


You'll Be Safe Here

by BlueBirdBlues1026



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Child Abuse, Depression, Guilt, Love Triangles, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-08-11 21:17:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 39,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7907944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueBirdBlues1026/pseuds/BlueBirdBlues1026
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeremy doesn't live a happy life, but he has his spirit and hope to get him through each day. On his seventeenth birthday, Jeremy begins to fear that his father's threats of throwing him out may start becoming less and less empty. He looks for jobs behind his father's back to prepare for a life on his own. Jeremy soon realizes it was possibly the best move he ever made.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He can't be that bad of a guy right?

Jeremy walks to his living room, currently burdened with a passed out man, to his chipping front door. He quietly closes the door behind him as he checks that all the pencils in his small and unique pencil case are sharpened. Jeremy grabbed one of his favorite pencil cases, a fuzzy one with a cat face on one side and the tail as the zipper. The stripes on this one were white and soft green, meaning he was having a wonderful day. Making sure the pages of his sketchbook were neatly in place, he hops off his porch and begins his walk, each step having a little bounce.

"G-good morning Ms.B-Bonita! Would you l-like some help with groceries t-today?" Jeremy kindly asks his favorite neighbor. The elderly woman looks up and smiles at the teen.

"Ah Jeremy, still as flattering as ever. Thank you Jeremy, but it's just one bag today." The woman smiles and speaks with a soft voice while holding a single plastic bag up. She brushes a stray dull brown strand of hair out of her face. "Well I have to get in the house before ol' Pissy-Missy goes through the trash again. She's been extra rambunctious lately." She kisses Jeremy's cheeks as he kisses hers. Jeremy smiles one last time at his neighbor, then returns to his walk.

It was much warmer than it has been the past few days. Jeremy looks at the birds flying around the trees. The flowers looked beautiful today, Jeremy notices. He wonders through the trees and flowers, enjoying the warmth. His smile drops as he shakes the thought away. He quickly grabs a red rubber band and puts it on his left wrist. He rolls up his green sleeves to show only wrists to remind himself later.

He looks to his left at a turn and blinks in surprise. They're finally done building a pizza place it seems. From the amount of cars in the parking lot, they're doing surprisingly well for being so new. Jeremy smiles and starts walking towards the pizzeria. Cute animals covered the windows. Jeremy thought the bunny was the cutest of the tree shown. The smell of greasy food made his stomach rumble. The bright colors made him feel more like a kid now that he was closer. Before entering, Jeremy notices a bright pink 'Help Wanted' flyer. He quickly jots down the details onto a new page in his sketchbook and enters.

The pizzeria was definitely out of his comfort zone. Children were running around and huddled by the stage or the arcade games. They were loud, but what child is quiet in a place like when they're having a blast? Parents didn't really seem that welcoming either. They were in little groups of friends or acquaintances not paying much mind to anything outside of their conversations. Jeremy sighs and sits in an empty booth. Hopefully, no one would fill the sear in front of him. His green eyes glance around while keeping his head low. No kids around, no parents looking, all the employees seem to be distracted, and the animatronic band on stage was fairly interesting. The perfect type of location Jeremy thinks he needed. Being in a place like this but still a bit away from the crowd was the perfect place for his shyness and social interactive needs.

Flipping open a new page in his sketchbook, Jeremy looks around for inspiration. Usually the park he would've gone to would give him plenty with its beautiful flowers, the surrounding trees, cherished playground rides. That was usually more than enough for ideas, but in this pizzeria, everything was so bright and colorful, so loud compared to the park. There was nothing beautiful and tranquil here...He sighs and rests his head on his hand. Jeremy started tapping the page with the eraser of his pencil. He ran his hand through his hair, now a little annoyed the creative cogs weren't turning.

"Hey, are you an artist?" A girl who who suddenly appeared asks. Jeremy jumps, earning a looks from the girl. She looked about 13. Jeremy slowly starts lowering his head and gives a small nod. She moves closer and sits next to him. "Can you draw me a picture then?" She asks in a bored tone. Jeremy nods, a little uncomfortable this stranger was so close to him.

"U-uh what did y-you have i-i-in m-m-mind um Miss?" Jeremy squeaks out, his stutter becoming worse with from his nervousness. The girl stares at him for a second then looks away.

"Name's Violet. You know Happy Tree Friends?" Violet asks. Jeremy gulps and nods. He hated the show. It was a cartoon gore for the sake of gore. It was disgusting.

"Great. I have an OC and I want you to draw it since...my drawing skills aren't so great..."Violet mumbles the last part. Jeremy almost cringes at the word OC. Most of them were total crap and drawing them was pure torture to him. Holding his groan and sigh, he nods. Violet leans back in her seat.

"Good. So Shivers' a female reindeer. She has an over-sized Santa g=hat uh with her antlers poking out aaaand a really big bag. Full of presents, ya know. Let's see, let's see. Oh and she wears gloves." Violet says. Jeremy makes sure his eyes are hidden from Violet, then rolls them. He starts sketching out the body as Violet slowly inches closer. Jeremy did it as close to the show style as possible so it only took a few minutes, being a cartoon and all. Jeremy quickly his the drawing out of his sketchbook and hands it to Violet. She gives a small smile and leaves.

Jeremy shakes his head and looks around for inspiration once again. Same singing bear and chicken, same bright lights, same children running around, and absolutely nothing soothing. Jeremy notices a worker staring at him. Violet is with him and gives him the drawing he just made. The man says something, though Jeremy couldn't hear what, and Violet points at him. Jeremy looks around just to make sure no one else was around. Unfortunately, Violet was either pointing at him or the wall. The guard nods and ruffles her black hair. She rolls her eyes and makes sure her streaked hairs are all together. He starts walking away from the girl, grinning at Jeremy now. Jeremy sinks into his seat, almost trying to hide.

The worker comes up to him, still grinning. The man doesn't say anything first, just stares. Jeremy feels himself become more and more nervous by the second. The worker sits down in front of the shy boy. Again, silence. It doesn't really seem to effect the stranger, but it was getting to Jeremy.

"So, you drew the picture for my little flower hm?" He says. He had a deep and scratchy voice. Jeremy felt even more uncomfortable and was almost too intimated to talk.

"Yes, i-is there something w-wrong with th-that?" Jeremy asks and gasps almost immediately after hearing his words aloud. "I-I-I mean the dr-dr-drawing! I-I-I didn't m-m-mean to sound l-l-like I was ch-ch-challenging you if you thought th-th-that!" Jeremy says and waves his hands frantically. The man chuckles and rests his head on his hand, now interested by this boy. Jeremy gulps.

"You've got an unique talent. May I see your works?" He asks while sliding his hand across the table. Jeremy nods. The man takes the sketchbook and quietly flips through the pages. his grey eyes glance up at the quivering boy. Sliding the sketchbook back to Jeremy, he chuckles once again.

"You're good I must says." The man says. "If you draw me a couple requests, I'll get you a job here. You don't have a job right?" Jeremy nods slowly.

"Great! How old are you?"

"S-s-seventeen..."

"Perfect. And your name? Mine is Vincent."

"...J-Jeremy Fitzgerald s-sir." Vincent grins wider. he takes the book and pencil. Jeremy doesn't speaks when he starts flipping through the pages again. He stops on the page where the flyer information was and starts writing something down. He stands quickly and walks away. Jeremy follows Vincent with his eyes until Vincent turns around a corner. Looking back to his sketchbook, he reads what his future coworker wrote.

'128 Seacore Drive. Meet me at 10 pm. Bring NO ONE if you want this job. Need to evaluate you. Boss is too lazy to do it himself.'

Jeremy tenses. Bring no one? Why would Vincent need him all alone? Why would he make it so clear it was so greatly... unwanted. No way would go alone to some creepy guy's house. he just meet him and presumably his daughter wasn't the type of teen he was comfortable around. He would rather ask the boss himself if he wanted the job after all. Grabbing his pencil case and his sketchbook, Jeremy stands. He looks around for the worker and his daughter. They weren't anywhere to be seen. Jeremy smiles and speed-walks out of the doors.

The sunshine is a pleasant change to blinking neon lights. The breeze pushes his bangs away from his eyes. Jeremy nearly skips away from the pizzeria. It's warmer outside now that the sun's high in the sky. Jeremy quickly rolls up his sleeves and holds his sketchbook in front of his lap with both hands. He couldn't help but take wider and bouncier steps. He used to always skip around hugging his sketchbook when he was a kid. He soon starts skipping and hugging the book to his chest once the trees hide him away. Jeremy likes this habit the most. He this it's a cute innocent habit to have.

When Jeremy gets home, he knows his father had left for a bar. He somehow always has money. Exactly enough to pay the bills for electricity, water and cable plus all day at a bar. However, when it came to clothing or food for Jeremy, it would somehow disappear...oh well. Jeremy enters his house since his father almost forgets to lock the door when he leaves for the bar. He runs up to his room and puts his sketchbook and pencil case under his bed with all his other supplies under his bed. Jeremy takes his shoes off and sets them beside his backpack and runs back down stairs. He needs to clean up his father's mess before he gets home that day. It wasn't that messy today so maybe Jeremy could cook dinner tonight. That'd be nice. Maybe some burgers and fries? Maybe steak and some mac and cheese? That was always a family favorite meal. It still might be. Jeremy never saw his father make a meal himself so there might be a chance it isn't now. Hopefully it is. A bottle of wine for his father could butter him up enough to eat it instead of blowing up about food being wasted or God knows what else.

Jeremy takes the six empty beer bottles off of the coffee table and throws them into a stray Target bag on the floor. Jeremy ties up the bag and puts it in the trash in the kitchen. Jeremy grabs the sponge from the sink and walks back into the living room. The bottles left rings on the coffee table's glass. He quickly wipes off the table while grabbing the crumpled up bills as he moves across it. Jeremy turns on his heel and looks at the sink. It was a straight line from him in the other room. He crouches and jumps a little while throwing it underhand. It makes it back to where he originally grabbed it from. He jumps up and down and squeals in victory.

"O-Oh my God! O-Oh my God! I a-actually made it! A-Awesome! That w-was amazing!" He quickly stops himself and takes a deep breath. He always stops his immaturity before it get out of control. 'Be a big boy, be a big boy.' Jeremy repeats to himself. He clears his throat then outs the bills back onto the table after unfolding and straightens them out. He turns to the couch and fixes the couch pillows. Equally positioned in the corners and fluffed, the way Jeremy loves them. He folds up the crumbles blanket on the floor and throws it on the couch's back, lining up with the tops of the pillows. Perfect!

Jeremy looks around the living room. His father must have came home then instantly passed out. Nothing was thrown around and even the remotes were still in order from the day before. This is a bit of a rare occurrence. Jeremy looks at the clock above the stove. 2:08. It's been 45 minutes since he checked the clock at the pizzeria. Just as Jeremy lays everything out to cook, his phone vibrates in his back pocket. His father had texted him.

'Jere' His father always said Jere when he wanted something from him. 'I need you to cook me a nice dinner. I'm bringing home a girl. Make something good got it? We'll be home at 9.' There wasn't any curses or type-o'e so he wasn't completely hammered yet. Jeremy sighs and looks at the dinner he wanted to cook. He wouldn't be able to enjoy it with his father like he'd hoped. Since he was bringing a girl home, Jeremy wouldn't even be allowed in the house! Sighing, Jeremy puts his phone back into his pocket and starts filling a pot with water. He sets it on the stove.

"Maybe..." Jeremy mumbles to himself. "Maybe I c-could eat a little a-and leave for V-Vincent's? Maybe I was j-judging too harshly." Jeremy sighs. If anything went wrong, he had his phone to call the police with. Yes, that's what he'll do. He turns back the pot and rolls up his sleeves smiling.

The dinner Jeremy made was better than he expected it to be. He lays out the bowls of food around the table. Two candles, a bottle of wine, garlic bread along with the rest of the food he cooked. Jeremy smiles at his work and turns off the light, making the candles give a more romantic feel now. He didn't eat anything, fearing his father would say there wasn't enough food for his lady friend. He looks up at the clock before leaving. It's 7:45 now. Hopefully, the walk to Vincent's house would take awhile. Jeremy types in the address on his map app. Vincent's house would take a half an hour to walk, or so the phone says. He takes his sketchbook and pencil case from the table he set them on before setting dinner. Jeremy quickly rolls down his sleeves to cover his hand and fingers and walks out.

Jeremy's stomach growls at the last sight of a warm meal. He holds his stomach and whimpers as he slowly walks down the street. Maybe Vincent would feed him. Maybe Vincent isn't a bad guy. After all he did offer Jeremy a job. He can't be all that bad if he was working at a children's pizzeria right? Another growl makes Jeremy pick up his pace. He wants food badly now. It was like a cruel joke to go to a pizzeria and make dinner on an empty stomach. Vincent would have dinner. Jeremy is positive he would. He hugs his sketchbook and pencil case close to his chest as he starts running.

"Wh-what's the worst thing that c-could happen if I come e-early?" Jeremy asks himself smiling. "It's not like h-he'll bake me into a pie!" Jeremy chuckles. He looks back at his phone and runs happily. He even skips a few times while giggling like a child.


	2. I'm sorry but I can't say

'You're being a good boy and staying out of daddy's way right?' Jeremy sighs at the text. He quickly types back so his father wouldn't get angry.

'Yes dad. I won't be home to bother you tonight. I love you' Jeremy waits for his response. It takes a few minutes before another text is sent. Jeremy isn't surprised when he reads it.

'Good. Stay away. You can come home in the morning. But come back sooner and all your stuff will be outside in the morning.' Nicer than most texts he gets, but still rude. Jeremy sighs and looks up at the white front door of a lovely house. It's quite large and the front yard is beautiful. It was filled filled with a nice oak and the hedges were perfectly trimmed in a straight line across the top. Lilies were planted on the sides of the steps of the front steps. Jeremy had arrived to his house an hour and a half too early. Hopefully, Vincent won't be mad and spare some food. If not, Jeremy had a small bag of Cheetos someone dropped a little ways back. There was a hole in the bottom, so they might be stale, but food's food right?

Jeremy takes a deep breath and knocks on this door. Violet quickly swings the door open. She seems surprised to see Jeremy. Violet looks away and puts a bored expression on.

"What are you here for?" She asks while leaning against the door.

"U-uh, your father invited me. Is h-he here?" Jeremy asks in a quiet voice. She shakes her head.

"Still working. But I'll you in since I'm in a good mood." Violet steps back for Jeremy. He quickly steps into the house and moves out of her way. She closes the door behind Jeremy and points to the kitchen with her thumb.

"There's some pizza in there. Come into the living room after. You can eat anywhere. Just don't make a mess." Violet explains to Jeremy and walks away. he looks at the kitchen and slowly starts walking towards it. Jeremy stops in his tracks when Violet turn on the tv. He lets out a sigh of relief and walks to the kitchen. Sudden noises when he went to the kitchen were definitely a bad thing back home.

Jeremy took a slice of pizza from the pizza box and looks around for a plate. He takes one off of the counter and walks out. He looks around for Violet. Her black and blue hair pop out from behind a couch. She's flipping through channels trying to find a good show on. Jeremy quietly makes his ways towards her and stops behind her.

"What are you l-looking for?" He asks. Violet jumps and screams, throwing a pillow at him. His eyes widen then he curls up into a little ball on the wooden floor. He covers his head and dare not look up. He knows the plate cracked and the pizza got on the floor. Violet stares at him. She kneels beside him and puts a hand on his back. He's shaking now. Violet slowly moves the cracked plate and dropped pizza away and gently rubs his back. He slowly starts peaking his head out. Violet can tell he's still terrified by his eyes though. She takes his trembling hands and forces him to stand. Jeremy stands slouched with his bent knees inward and arms covering his stomach.

"I-I-I'm so s-s-sorry Violet! I d-d-didn't mean to break y-y-your plate a-a-and waste your f-f-food!" Jeremy says as his shaking worsens. Violet doesn't say anything. She points for him to sit on the couch. He almost jumps to the corner of the farthest seat. Jeremy curls up into a little ball, waiting for Violet to act. She only stares though. Looking back down at the mess, she picks up the pizza and the biggest glass shards and walks into the kitchen. Jeremy follows her with his eyes, a little confused. Why wasn't she yelling?

"Yo Jeremy, mind grabbing me the broom? It's in the closet by the front door." Violet yells from the kitchen. Jeremy scrambles off the couch to the closet. He quickly grabs the broom and rushes back to Violet. She takes the broom and sweeps the smaller shards into the dust pan. Jeremy bows his head and places his hand on his thighs.

"Again, I-I-I'm sorry for b-b-breaking your plate, V-V-Violet," Jeremy mutters and closes his eyes. Violet turns around and stares at him.

"Uh, yea sure, whatever. Uh, dude what are you doing? Wait isn't that like some Japanese thing?" Violet asks. Jeremy nods.

"You are without a doubt the weird est kid I've ever met. Just sit down and put something on ok? I'll get you another slice of pizza." Violet says. Jeremy nods and sits down as far as he could from Violet's seat. She rolls her eyes and disappears back into the kitchen once again. Jeremy takes the remote and turns to the tv. Some nature show is on. He hits guide and quickly glances through the shows. Nothing looked really interesting. Most of the shows sound boring and the ones that seem ok were on the channels that Jeremy wasn't too fond of. Jeremy's eyes light up at a particular show he passes by. He puts the show on and smiles They're airing his favorite episode of his favorite show.

Violet walks back in and hand Jeremy a plate with pizza on it and a glass of Coke. She sits down on the opposite side of the couch and looks at what Jeremy put on. She blinks and stares at Jeremy.

"Really kid?" She says with an eyebrow raised. Jeremy blushes and curls back up into a ball.

"I-It was my first a-anime ok? I l-like it..." He mumbles. Violet rolls her eyes and looks back at the show. Sailor Moon was an anime she wasn't really into. Hell Girl or Shingeki no Kyojin was the type she liked. Sailor Moon was too girly. Jeremy seems more than happy watching this though. 'What a weirdo,'Violet thinks to herself. She hears the opening starting but tries to block it out as she stares up at the ceiling. the opening was too loud to ignore. She looks over to Jeremy. He looks back to her and tilts his head. After a few awkward glances between Sailor Moon and Violet, he clears his throat. Violet groans loud and slides onto the floor. She suddenly stops and smiles.

"Hey wanna play hide and seek?" Violet asks. Jeremy shrugs and looks back to the tv. "C'mon! You broke a plate! You owe me!" Jeremy tenses and nods, turning his show off and putting his food on the seat next to him.

"O-ok. Rules?" He asks.

"You can only hide outside and if I catch you then-"

"Violet, sweetie, is that any way to treat our guest?" A familiar voice cuts Violet off. She and hangs her head.

"Np, it's not. I'm sorry, Jeremy." She groans. Jeremy looks around but doesn't see anyone. A tall man with a blue long sleeved shirt comes into the living room and leans on against a wall with his arms folded.

"Don't tease hi. You're the one going on about manners aren't you? And please don't do your weird bend bend thing. It'll scare the living shit out of him." The man says. Jeremy tilts his head. A hand suddenly grips his shoulder. Jeremy screams and leaps off the couch. His foot slips on the landing. Jeremy slams into the wood flooring. he yelps and looks behind him. Vincent was staring at him.

"Damn it Vince! Look at what you did! I said NOT to scare him!" The tall brunette scolds while walking towards Jeremy. "He, it's alright, kid. You ok?" He asks in a soft voice. Jeremy doesn't answer. He's still staring at Vincent. The purple haired man moves closer to Jeremy. He crawls behind the stranger. Vincent rolls his eyes and grabs Jeremy's wrist. the man smacks Vincent's hand away. He glares at the brunette hiding Jeremy.

"What the hell Scott?" Vincent asks. Scott rolls his eyes.

"Vincent, you can't scare people and then expect them to be ok with you grabbing them." Scott says while patting Jeremy's head. The scared boy nods and hugs Scott tighter.

"See? The poor kid's shaking."

"Well it's not my fault he showed up early. He was supposed to come at 10, not 8:56!" Vincent yells.

"8:45, actually." Violet pipes in.

"Violet you're not helping." Scott says while hugging Jeremy. "Why is he even here?"

"A-a-an interv-v-view for a j-j-job, Mr. Scott." Jeremy whispers. Scott nods and gently helps Jeremy up. He motions Vincent to the kitchen with his head and guides Jeremy there. Vincent ruffles Violet's hair and follows Scott. Jeremy sits in a chair and waits for Vincent. He sits in the seat across from the shy boy. Scott leans against a wall.

"Ok, Vincent, what's this really about? And before you play dumb, I mean Jeremy being here for a job. Why couldn't the boss interview him if you really think there's a job Jeremy could do." Scott asks in an annoyed tone. Vincent grins and shrugs.

"I just wanted to talk with the kid. There's no harm in that right?" You know I wouldn't hurt a fly right? Besides, this kid has talent. I just wanted a portrait of me. Maybe he'll draw one of you too." Vincent says staring at Jeremy with wide eyes. His grin stretches across his face. Jeremy doesn't like that grin. Scott nods and walks over to the cabinet. Vincent and Jeremy look at each other in confusion then back to Scott. He pulls out two loaves of bread. Vincent gasps and slaps his hand over his mouth. Scott smirks and fills the sink with water. Vincent begs Scott to stop. Scott stops the water and dangles the loaves over the sink. Vincent hops out of his seat and clings to Scott's leg.

"Please Scotty don't! I wasn't going to do anything to the kid! I promise! Please don't hurt them! I swear! It was just an interview this time! He was going to stay the night on his own accord! Right Jeremy!?" Jeremy slowly nods, not sure what else to do. Vincent smiles with tears in his eyes. Scott sighs and puts the bread on the counter.

"Alright Vincent, are you going to interview Jeremy or not?" Scott asks. Vincent nods and detaches himself from Scott's leg, flopping on his back. Jeremy hugs his legs and hides behinds his knees. Vincent crawls on his towards him, still upside down. Jeremy face shows pure horror. He buries he head in his knees, too terrified to keep looking at Vincent. Vincent crawls under the table and pops up into his own chair. Scott facepalms.

"So, Jere, just answer these questions as truthfully as possible. Got it?" Vincent asks. Jeremy nods vigorously.

"Good. Now, were do you see yourself in five years?" Vincent questions while folding his hands.

"U-um, I guess I-I would like to be in c-college after I finish h-high school. B-But it's m-more likely th-that I'll be working." Jeremy responds. Vincent nods.

"Are you close with your family?" Vincent leans forward and asks. Jeremy tenses and pauses for a second.

"My f-family? No. No I'm not close to my dad. I don't have any other family than him."

"I see. Alright. There's a mask and a desk in the room you're in. There are intruders wearing the same masks and unaware who's who. Three burst in! What do you do!?" Vincent shouts. Jeremy jumps.

"I take th-the mask and hide under the d-desk!" Jeremy answers.

"They found you!" Vincent shouts again.

"I play a-along! I pl-play along!" Jeremy shouts back. Vincent smiles.

"Nice reflexes kid." Vincent grins. Jeremy nods and ducks back behind his knees.

"You're scaring him again." Scott says. Vincent pouts.

"It's not my fault he's such a scaredy cat." Vincent says in his defense. He quickly crawls across the table to Jeremy and cups his cheeks. Jeremy blushes a deep red at this.

"I think I like him better scared anyway. He's cuter with fear shows in his eyes." Vincent chuckles darkly. Jeremy's breath quickens. Vincent leans closer to Jeremy's face. A sudden loud growl cuts him off. Jeremy covers his stomach and looks away. Vincent chuckles and ruffles Jeremy's hair.

"Let me get you your food." Vincent says as he slides off the table. He walks out of the kitchen to get Jeremy's food.

"You'll get used to him. Trust me, he's annoying as hell at first, but he'll grow on you. Just like Mike." Scott smiles and chuckles. "I wonder what that asshole's up to."

"I-is he s-someone I should w-worry about?" Jeremy asks in a quiet voice. Scott tilts his head.

"No, not really. He's hot tempered so he might mess with you or try to force information out of you if he thinks you're hiding something. he's in love with puns too. if he ever messes with you, just yell for Vincent. If he gives you a scratch, Vince will give him a broken arm."

"Wait, he w-would hurt someone for m-me?" Jeremy asks with clear confusion on his face.

"Yeah. He chooses the people he surrounds himself with for a reason. You'll figure it out eventually. He likes to creep up on potential friends. He scopes out the real friends that way. I have no idea what made such a shy and nervous kid like you stand out in the crowd." Scott says looking at Jeremy. Vincent slides back into the kitchen with Jeremy's plate and soda. Vincent presses his chest against Jeremy's back as he places them in front of the blushing boy. Vincent wraps his arms around Jeremy's shoulders and presses his cheek into Jeremy's. Vincent stays for a second, then lets go and walks to Scott. Jeremy takes quick bites from his pizza. It was just something he did out of habit now. Jeremy barely tastes it since he was just concerned with the feeling of being full. He slows down at the crust. He still eats as quickly as he could without choking. With the pizza now residing in his stomach, he turns to the soda. He takes a deep breath and chugs it. He kind of liked the burning in his throat anyways. Panting, he looks over his shoulder. Scott and Vincent were staring at. Jeremy wipes his lips with his sleeve.

"I th-think I should leave n-now," Jeremy says. Vincent shakes his head and points at a staircase.

"You came all this way. You can sleep here." Vincent says with a grin. Jeremy opens his mouth to protest, but is quickly cut off.

"I insist. Your things will still be here when you wake up. The guest bed room is the last door on the right." Vincent says, still pointing. Jeremy nods and slowly walks to the stair case. As soon as the boy was out of sight, Vincent whips around to face Scott. Scott grins as Vincent's hands snake around his waist. Scott raps his arms around Vincent's neck.

"Finally. I thought we'd never get a chance to be alone~."Vincent mumbles before kissing Scott. Scott chuckles.

"With all the attention you were giving to little Jere, I thought you were trying to heat on me. Don't you think you should make it up to me?" Scott asks. Vincent grins and kisses Scott.

Jeremy sits down on the queen sized bed. The room dark. Jeremy smiles and slips off his shoes. Looking around the room, he sees two doors next to each other. Jeremy's curiosity was never tamed before and it won't be now. He quietly walks to the first door and pulls it open. It's only and empty closet. Jeremy pouts and shuts the door, He opens the door next to it, and this time, it was actually interesting; a bathroom with a comfortable looking tub. The mat on the beautiful tile floor was so soft. Jeremy makes a mental note to use this before he leaves tomorrow. He shuts the door and walks back to the large bed. 'I winder what else Vincent must do. There's no way he could ever afford this if he just had a job at Fazbear's.' Jeremy wonder to himself.

Looking around at a tall mirror across from the bed, Jeremy remembers he hadn't checked himself today. Jeremy locks the bedroom door and walks to the mirror. He stares at his own face for a while, checking for any bruises or scratches. He lifts his bangs to make sure his hair isn't hiding any. Luckily, his face is fine. Jeremy takes off his green turtleneck and puts it on his foot of the bed. His ribs were very noticeable, but at least his stomach wasn't sunken in like it usually was. The bruises from a few days ago were still a shade of purple on his gut and sides. The new cuts on his wrists were a deep pink, but better than the red they were when he last checked. He turns around and checks his back. Bruises and scratches cover his back almost like a cheetah's spots. Sighing, Jeremy grabs his turtleneck and slowly puts it back on. His shoulders were still sore. He walks to the door and unlocks it. The bed looks so soft and welcoming as he approaches it. Jeremy takes out the tiny bag of Cheetos and throws it onto the night stand. He takes off his jeans and crawls into bed. The sheets and the pillows are so soft. Jeremy takes one of the pillows he was using and cuddles it.

Jeremy closes his eyes and lets his mind wander around. 'What if the pizzeria really does pay Vincent a lot of money. Maybe I could move out. Go to college. That'd be nice. I could actually draw for a career. Wait. No. There's no way a pizzeria has that type of money to throw around. What if Vincent really is a killer and lours his prey in, then when they least expect it, he makes the kill. He could take the money and valuables if he's in their house.' Jeremy chuckles to himself. 'What am I saying? Of course Vincent isn't a killer. There'd be news reports about missing people wouldn't there be? My imagination is just getting the best of me. He gave me food.' He snuffs deeper under the blanket. He cuddles the pillow tighter. 'Bills. What bills are due this week? Was it cable? No, Dad would tell me it was cable. Water then? I already paid the electricity bill do it's not that. Oh yay. It's almost Food Stamp Friday. How could I have forgotten?

I wonder if I could stay here for a while. That'd be great. Dad's probably gonna throw me out soon anyway. He keeps saying 'Just wait till yer birfday. Then you'll be outta meh life fer good.' I wonder how long it would take him to realize without Ms. Bonita's help, he's screwed. Maybe he would be nice to me for once. I would kill for that.' Jeremy's thought's dwindle as he starts falling into a sweet slumber. He always did like the feeling of slipping into sleep.

The door makes a slight creaks as it's opened and closed. Jeremy's tired green eyes slowly open. It was Vincent? His hair was out and wild. He grins at the tired boy and climbs on top of him. Jeremy's body refuses to push him away. Even his eyelids were trying to shut again. Vincent leans down and gently turns Jeremy's head to face him. Jeremy's eyes open a little wider. He could clearly see Vincent now. He wasn't wearing a shirt. Vincent pulls down the covers. Jeremy sighs and rolls onto his back using all of his strength. The older man's hand slides down the smaller's ribs. Jeremy gulps and holds in a whimper as he presses against a few bruises. Vincent rolls up Jeremy's sweater and almost jumps back. Vincent quickly rips away the blankets. Jeremy sees pure horror in his grey eyes. The bruises on his torso, his battered ribs, the scratches on his legs, all of it made Vincent want to gag. He looks like a starved and beaten animal. Vincent growls and sits Jeremy up. Jeremy's head bobs a bit, but he keeps his eyes locked on Vincent the best he could. Jeremy's swaying stops as he becomes more awake.

"Jere, I need an answer. Who did this to you?" Vincent practically growls. Jeremy's shock is clearly on his face. No one has ever asked that question before. He quickly wipes the expression off his face and looks away.

"I...I'm very cl-clumsy. That's a-all." Jeremy says, looking down. Vincent hugs him tight. Jeremy's eyes widen as Vincent strokes his hair. Vincent kisses the top of his head and speaks in a hushed tone.

"Jere, please tell who hurt you. Tell me who to protect you form." Jeremy tears up at these words.

"I-I'm sorry, but I c-can't say." Jeremy whispers. A tear rolls down his cheek. "I d-don't want you to hurt h-him. I still l-love him. B-But would you really prot-tect me though? If I gave y-you a name, would you p-protect me from h-him?" Jeremy asks. Vincent nods and lays down, smiling. Not grinning or smirking, but smiling. Vincent lays down and brings Jeremy with him. Jeremy crawls on top of him and closes his tired eyes. Vincent rolls down the green turtleneck and pulls the covers them. The older man rubs gentle circles into the beaten boy's shoulder blades. Jeremy adores the attention he's getting; the warmth of the blanket, Vincent's affection, the back rub, and falling asleep with a full stomach. It was bliss. Jeremy gives a last content sigh, and slips into the sleep that was calling his name for quite a while.


	3. Rough day at work

Jeremy clings to Vincent's arm as they enter the pizzeria. Jeremy looks around the empty stage area then returns his gaze back down to the checkered floor. Scott follows behind Jeremy and ruffles his hair. He gives a soft smile when Jeremy looks up at him.

"Don't worry kid! You'll do fine. I swear." Scott says. Jeremy smiles and nods.

"Ok Jere, the boss' room is over there. Don't be to nervous." Vincent says, pointing Jeremy to the door. Jeremy takes a deep breath and checks his work uniform Vincent gave him. 'All buttons properly buttoned, shoes tied, good pasture, alright. Jeremy, you can do this!' Jeremy thinks to himself and walks toward the door. He keeps his posture strong and takes deep breathes, trying to calm his nerves. He knocks on the door lightly and almost jumps at the deep voice telling to him to enter. The boy does as he's told and gives one last glance to Scott and Vincent. 'Heh, they look like parents sending their child off to school.' Jeremy thinks and closes the door.

Mr. Fazbear, a man with disheveled hair and dark rings under his eyes, stares at Jeremy confused. Jeremy clears his throat.  
"Hello, Mr. F-Fazbear. I'm Jeremy Fitzg-gerald. I would like to w-work here. I was interviewed y-yesterday by Vincent. He thinks I would be f-fit for a j-job here." Jeremy says, blushing in embarrassment from his stutter. The man straightens up and looks Jeremy up and down.

"Vincent huh? He brought in a stuttering teenager to handle droves of screaming children." The owner says shaking his head. Jeremy gulps and takes deep breath.

"I-I assure you, sir, I'm a very h-hard worker and a quick learner. Just give me an o-opportunity to prove it." Jeremy says. Mr. Fazbear sighs and looks down at his desk in thought. He slowly looks back up.

"I owe Vincent a favor. I guess you're that favor then. Are you still in school?" Mr. Fazbear asks. Jeremy nods.

"Y-Yes, but I can work after 2 to wh-what ever time you need on all weekdays. W-weekends are completely free for me s-so I c-can come in early and leave late." Jeremy says, hoping his employment sounds less forced. "Kids a-actually love me too. A-and if you need a maintenance g-guy, I could fill that j-job." Mr. Fazbear looks at Jeremy, more intrigued now.

"So you can do all that? How?" Jeremy smiles at the question.

"W-well, I've always liked learning about e-electronics and how they w-work so I already know what went wrong and h-how to fix the animatronics if th-they ever break. Now with kids, I-I have a very childish pers-sonality so kids just get attached to me. Personally, I th-think there are more pros than cons if y-you hire me." Jeremy says, more confident now. Mr. Fazbear nods.

"Can you work 3 to 10 on Thursday through Sunday?" Mr. Fazbear asks. Jeremy's hidden eyes light up and nods. His new boss smiles.

"Tell Vincent to show you around." He says and looks back down at the papers scattered on his desk. Jeremy stands and calmly walks out. Jeremy runs up to his coworkers and tackles them in a hug. He instantly starts showering the two in thank you's and hugs tighter. Jeremy stands and lets Vincent and Scott up, blushing from embarrassment again. He looks down and rubs his arm.

"U-Um, Vincent, the boss said he wants you t-to show me around," Jeremy whispers. Vincent groans and pushes a snickering Scott. Jeremy slightly flinches and almost yelps when Vincent grabs his wrist. Vincent drags Jeremy towards a hallway with a grip that's too tight and rough for the shy boy to be comfortable with. Jeremy doesn't try to pull away though, fearing it would make Vincent even angrier. Vincent suddenly stops and takes a deep breath. He looks over to Jeremy, who looks even weaker and more scared than usual. Vincent lets go of Jeremy's tiny wrist and gently guides him to a very colorful room.

The room has balloons scattered around, presents wrapped in pastel colored ribbons sit piled in a corner, and a small carousel occupies the room. Vincent walks over the largest present in the pile and takes off the top. He pulls out a limp black and white puppet. Jeremy shudders when he looks into its lifeless eyes.

"This guy is Marionette. He hands out presents to the children. So we make sure there are a lot of stuffed animals in his box the ones around him. Best to check every couple of hours." Vincent says and sits the marionette up straight. He points over a cluster of balloons. Jeremy jumps at the boy who appeared from out of nowhere.

"Humpty fucking Dumpty over there gives out balloons." Vincent says glaring at the chubby boy. Jeremy looks over at Vincent.

"That's not v-very nice. Wh-what is he exactly?" Jeremy asks looking back over at the boy.

"Animatronic. He freaks out some of the kids so he doesn't move around. Same deal as with Mari. And then there's Mangle." Vincent says and looks in the far corner. Jeremy follows his gaze. A feminine fox wearing a pirate vest and skirt sits slouch on a treasure chest.

"That beauty over there is Mangle. Well, her real name is Toy Foxy, but since she get torn apart by the kids, we call her Mangle now. That's why she doesn't wear her blouse or her long skirt anymore. We had to take a lot of her props away from her so the kids won't steal. Poor thing. All she did was tell stories and then one day they just started ripping her apart." Vincent says, only looking at her now. Jeremy feels deep empathy for her. Vincent clears his throat and looks away.

"We prefer to catch kids before they disassemble her than let them and clean her up at the end of the night. And we have paper and crayons near the carousel that we have to keep stocked up. So that's all that you really need to know. Scott and I got the other rooms. You and Fritz handle this one. Speaking of which, where is that lazy bum?" Vincent asks looking around. Jeremy walks over to the drawing table while Vincent wonders out. There's plenty of paper and crayons, but no pencils for Jeremy to use. He shrugs and looks around the room again. Vincent said they would have a free half hour before anybody would come in. Jeremy sits down in one of the three chairs and takes a blue, grey, yellow, orange, and red crayon. He looks back at the doorway one more time to check that Vincent didn't come back in. He turns back to his paper and picks up the blue. He starts sketching small curves into the center of the page.

Jeremy finishes up the outlines of his picture and feels quite pleased with out it turned out. Completely distracted by his drawing, he's completely unaware of the presence behind him. Jeremy smiles and picks up the yellow again. A hand touches his shoulder. Jeremy screams and falls out of his chair. The person above him snickers and holds out a hand. Jeremy looks up at the person before taking his has wild orange hair and thick glasses. He wears the same blue uniform as Jeremy does. The shy teen gulps and looks up at him.

"A-a-are you um th-th-the guy who I'm s-supposed work with?" Jeremy whispers. Fritz nods and looks down at the drawing. Jeremy quickly takes it and hides it back hide his back, making Fritz give a questioning look. Jeremy bites his lip and looks to the side. Fritz looks around the room then back to the teen.

"May I see that...what's your name?" Fritz asks. Jeremy shakes his head.

"I-I'm Jeremy." Jeremy answers in a quiet voice.

"Why not, Jeremy?" Fritz asks. "I already saw it was Sailor Moon." Jeremy sighs and shows his picture. Fritz takes it and examines it.

"You know, I never really like Sailor Moon all that much. My favorite was actually Sailor Mercury." Fritz says. Jeremy looks up at him and takes back his drawing.

"S-so, you like Sailor Moon?" Jeremy asks. Fritz nods and smiles.

"I actually like anime and manga a lot. You?" Jeremy raises his head a little bit.

"S-Same!" Jeremy says, very excited.

"You know I never really had someone to talk about anime with. This is awesome!" Fritz says. Jeremy nods.

The echoing sound of the front door opening and closing catch the two's full attention. Fritz pats the younger's shoulder, who folds up his picture and tucks it in his shirt pocket. A little girl runs passed the door and farther down into the hallway. Jeremy tilts his head and looks to Fritz for an explanation.

"Bathroom's in this hallway," He says and sits down in a seat. He pats the one next to him. Jeremy quickly sits down and keeps looking to the doorway, clearly tense. The girl runs pass them again, probably back to her parent. The nervous teen let out a sigh and relaxes his posture.

"Uh Jeremy, you ok?" Fritz asks, patting Jeremy back.

"I d-don't do well in public spaces. Just being o-outside kinda puts me on e-edge." Jeremy says hanging his head. The redhead picks up a black crayon and puts it into clear view for Jeremy. He takes it and slowly looks up at his coworker.

"Draw something else. You didn't notice me at all when you were drawing Sailor Moon. Draw some more." Fritz says, sliding a piece of paper over. Jeremy nods and looks down at the blank sheet. He glances over to Mangle's slouched form. He looks back down and begins lightly sketching curves once again. Jeremy loosens up a tiny bit as ideas start flowing. He takes more colors out and starts sketching more out. Fritz leans over, very entertained in Jeremy's work. He starts off with yellow eyes showing sass then picks up the grey crayon.

By the time the brunette finishes, 30 minutes had past and children were now circling the room. Most were crowded around Mangle. Fritz is standing by the marionette now, leaving Jeremy all alone. He looks over his shoulder and is surprised to see a couple kids staring at his drawing. He smiles and holds it up. They 'ooo' and 'aaah' at it. Jeremy giggles and hands the closest little girl his creation. Her eyes light up and she runs away almost squealing. The other kids whine and look down. Jeremy smiles and takes out a few more sheet of paper. The first kid to notice smiles and latches onto Jeremy's waist. She gives a big smile, showing a missing tooth. She back up a few steps and digs her pocket. She pulls out a blue bunny and shows it to Jeremy. Chuckling, he takes it and examines it.

"I wanna picture of my Bon Bon!" She says and point to the tiny stuffed animal. Jeremy nods and sits up toy against the stack of paper. He takes a nice shade of green, he begins his process of sketching. The girl smiles and watches Jeremy draw. He pats her head and picks up a blue and another green crayon. Jeremy notices that every time he picks up a new crayon, the little girl's eyes light up. He smiles and continues his drawing, attracting more attention from the other children running around. Jeremy finishes his drawing as quickly but neatly as he could. He knows most kids have a short attention span and he felt the little girl clinging onto his arm becoming impatient and fidgety. He quickly goes over the outlines and gently colors in the drawing. He feels the little girl bouncy up and down as fast as she could. He signs his signature in grey and hands her the picture. She squeals and hugs it, not even looking at it yet. Bon Bon was cuddling a stuffed carrot in the picture. The girl grabs her toy and runs out of the room, still smiling as big as she could. The other kids in the crowd turn back to the teen and crowd closer around him.

"I want Hulk!"

"I want a unicorn!"

"I want a pikachu!"

The children hug him tightly and shout out their requests. Some of the father one start pushing and shoving to get closer. Jeremy gulps and tries prying some off him. They unfortunately stick to him like they're super glued on. They began to get a little rougher and almost start pulling him around. He begins to panic and says something without thinking it though.

"G-guys! I'll get to e-everyone! I swear! Just please o-one at a time! I'll be here all day and n-night! No need for sh-shoving!" Jeremy says, trying to calm the kids down. They slowly start backing up, one by one. He gulps at the amount of requests he had coming. There are a good dozen already, and the day had only just started. He looks over to Fritz and gives a pleading look. Fritz is only laughing at how much stress Jeremy had just put onto himself. He looks back to the demanding children, who still have their eyes locked on him. He slowly picks up the same green crayon as before and gulps again.

"Who-who's n-next?" Jeremy asks with shaky voice and a very forced smile. Almost instantly, he's put back in the situation of being pulled in all directions.

The clock chimes as it finally reaches the 10. Jeremy waves to the last of the children being forced to leave the kiddie room with their souvenirs. Fritz walks up to him and waves with him. Jeremy slumps down to his seat and groans. His hand was sore and cramping, his eyes hurt and all his energy was gone at this point. Vincent strolls in and chuckles at Jeremy's drained form. The boy groans loudly and looks at Vincent.

"I'm hurt," He whines. Vincent sits Jeremy up straight and ruffles his hair.

"How many pictures did you draw?" Vincent asks. Jeremy sighs.

"I-I stopped counting a-after 38." Jeremy whimpers and falls onto the floor. He crawls to Vincent and hugs his leg. Vincent rolls his grey eyes and picks up Jeremy bridal style. Jeremy cuddles into the warm purple shirt.

"Guys, are we ready to go?" Scott yells, still in the other room. Vincent looks at Mangle before answering.

"Mangle's in one piece so yeah!" Vincent yells back. Fritz pats Jeremy shoulder on his way out form the room. Jeremy smiles and says a weak goodbye. Vincent takes one last look around before leaving. The exhausted boy closes his eyes and listens to the sound of Fritz's footsteps leaving the pizzeria. The now familiar sound of the door opening and closing echos loudly in the pizza again. Jeremy starts nodding off to sleep, ready to fall asleep under his guard dog's protection. Scott and Vincent start a quiet conversation, unknowingly lulling the boy faster to sleep. Just as Jeremy slips into another peaceful sleep, the door opens, startling Jeremy greatly. He rubs his eyes and looks to who opened the door. A man with tan skin and scowl walks in. He glares at Vincent and Jeremy feels Vincent tense.

"Hey, Mike! What are you doing here so early?" Scott asks. The man's glare drops as his attention focuses on Scott.

"Hey Scott. I just got up and of course Doll jumped on me and demanded we go out for dinner the second my eyes opened. I uh think I left my wallet here. See it?" Mike asks. Scott rolls his eyes and throws a black wallet to Mike. He smiles and checks if all his money and credit cards are still there. He smile didn't falter, so Jeremy assumes it's all there. Mike looks up at Scott and opens his mouth, but loud honks muffle his sentence. Mike chuckles and waves to Scott.

"Well Doll's hungry so I better go now. See ya around." Mike says. He finally notices Jeremy's limp form cuddling into Vincent's chest. Mike shots the tired boy a glare before leaving. Jeremy looks at Scott.

"W-was that the Mike you were t-talking about yesterday?" Jeremy asks with a scratchy voice. Scott nods and chuckles.

"I know how he seems, but he grows on you!" Scott says.

"Bullshit," Vincent mumbles.

Jeremy looks back to where Mike was standing.

"Well he seemed...interesting at least." Jeremy says too quietly for Vincent and Scott to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Hey guys. Sorry for the late update and sorry if this chapter kinda sucks, but it was a little forced out and some parts I wrote when I was very tired. I hope this is good. I might rewrite this if I'm not happy with it in the morning. As for a late update, I was on vacation for a week. I'll try to get one out very soon and it will hopefully be better than this one. Night night. It's currently 4: 30 am and I am tired af.


	4. This is going to be a good week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! Jeremy gets hit in this chapter.

Students walk out of the school doors with a sluggish pace, drained from the work. The school day was painfully boring, repetitive, and too long for Jeremy to pay much attention to anything. His backpack dug into his shoulders from all the books he was forced to carry around. He looks up at the clouds since there really wasn't anywhere more interesting to look. A few fluffy cloud were in sight with the sun shinning brightly on them. He smiles and keeps looking up at them. That is, until a sudden push sends Jeremy to the ground.

"You should be more careful, queer." A venomous voice whispers. Jeremy rolls his eyes at his usual attacker. Jeremy gets up and brushes off his jeans, not very fazed by his fall. He runs to his bus and sits in his usual seat. Jeremy continues looking at the gorgeous sky out the window. Looking at the sky during bus rides calm him. It just keeps his full attention and clears out any stress on his mind. It's such a lovely mindless feeling.

The bus makes its first stop, snapping Jeremy back to reality. It's then that he notices the vibrations of his phone. The teen takes it out and gulps when he sees the text.

'Get your fuvkong littel ass home noe!' His father was drunk once again. Jeremy looks down and types with shaking fingers.

'The bus is almost home daddy. I'll be there soon. What's wrong?' Jeremy sends it and taps his foot on the floor. His breath becomes shorter and his heart beat faster. He almost jumps when another text pops up. Jeremy quickly taps on it, and tilts his head. Whoever texted him isn't in his contact list. He looks around the bus, seeing if anyone was just playing another prank on him. No one was looking back at him or even glancing at him. He turns back to his phone and reads the text.

'Hey. Where are you?' The stranger asks.

'Who is this?' Jeremy texts back, a little confused.

'Santa Clause. It's Vincent! Who else would it be?' Jeremy is now even more confused. He is sure he never gave Vincent his number. His phone was with him at all times and he is sure Vincent never touched it.

'Uuuuuh how did you get this number?' Jeremy asks. Vincent waits a few minutes before answering.

'...Where are you? I'm at your school, but I can't see you.' Vincent texts, completely avoiding the question. Jeremy looks around again, still thinking this is just a weird prank. Once again, no one was paying Jeremy any mind. He's pretty sure he never told Vincent which school he went to.

'Took the bus home. Legs were killing me. I'm almost home so im ok but um how did you know what school I go to?' Jeremy asks, a little creeped out.

'...Check your grammar and be safe. If you want to come to my place again, I would be more than happy to pick you up.' Vincent once again avoids the question. Jeremy begins typing again, but is cut off from another text. He instantly taps on his father's name. He gulps and reads.

'Get ovre here now!' Jeremy's eyes widen. The bus stops again, almost making Jeremy slam his face into the seat in front of him. He stands and rushes off the bus. The first thing he sees after getting off the bus is Ms. Bonita and her granddaughter playing on the porch. He waves while putting on a calm expression. The elderly woman looks at Jeremy and waves back. Her granddaughter, on the other hand, is too invested in what ever game they're playing to notice his presence. He almost calls out the young one's name, but decides against it. Little Sofia looks so determined, it was just too adorable to interrupt her concentration. Jeremy rolls his eyes and walks to his house. He slows his pace as much as he could without looking too suspicious. Once at the front door, he stands there for a few seconds. Jeremy takes a deep breath and looks down at the door knob. He forces himself to step inside of his house.

Jeremy's father sits at the kitchen table, sipping the last drops of a beer. Jeremy quietly shuts the door and slowly walks towards his father. He sets down his heavy book bag. His father finally notices his nervous child. The man sets down the beer bottle and motions Jeremy over. The boy gulps and walks over slowly. Once close to his father, Jeremy kneels down and places his folded hands on his lap.

"H-hello, Daddy," Jeremy whispers, not looking up to meet his father's gaze. His father grins at his son's submission. He grabs Jeremy's bangs and yanks his head upward. The frightened boy holds down a yelp and squeezes his eyes shut. His hands clench his pants when his father begins yanking on his bangs. Jeremy forces an eye open to his see his father. The man finally lets go of his son to open another beer. Jeremy combs down his now very messy hair, frowning when a few strands fall off. Jeremy returns his gaze to ground. His father sets down his beer and nudges Jeremy with his boot. The brunette slowly looks up.

"You're gonna have ta be outta here fer a week. If ya come back sooner, I'll get yer little ass. Got dat?" The drunken man asks. Jeremy nods.

"I-i-is that girl you m-m-met staying?" Jeremy asks in the quietest voice he can manage. His father somehow hears him and growls. Jeremy flinches and covers his head when he sees his father's leg move. The boy flies back from a kick. He groans and curls up tight. His father's footstep thump against the floor, getting closer. This just made Jeremy curl up tighter and cover his head as best as he could. An empty beer bottle is smashed on the terrified boy's head. It shatters from the force, but luckily it was met with Jeremy's hand. He hisses and tucks his throbbing hand between his stomach and his legs, trying to lessen the pain. The man picks up Jeremy by his hair and forces him to stand. The boy whimpers and balls his good hand. He could only handle a few seconds of the pain this time and tries to push his father's hand away. The man punches his son in the gut. Jeremy coughs as his legs buckle, making his father rip out a few more hairs in the fall. His father gives a last kick to Jeremy's side. He curls up again and whimpers. His father kneels down beside the shaking and beaten boy.

"I'll be nice n' give ya an hour ta pack yer shit. I don't care where ya go er what ya do, but don't come back here fer a week. Got it? A week!" His father shouts. Jeremy flinches and nods. His father reaches into Jeremy's back pocket and takes out his wallet. The man takes all the money and tosses the wallet on its owner. Jeremy flinches and doesn't move a muscle. His father walks away, mumbling insult under his breath, and slams the front door shut behind him. Jeremy waits a few minutes to make sure his father wasn't coming back in. Jeremy takes a few deep breaths and rolls onto his stomach. He slowly lifts himself up on his elbows and knees. He gasps from the renewed pain after twisting his body. The brunette hangs his head and crawls. Once he reaches the stairs, he grabs the railing and helps himself up. He sways a little, but stays up. He walks up the stairs and walks into his room.

Jeremy's room isn't anything all that special. If anything it's just a boring room. A bed, white walls, grey carpet and a pile a clothes. The only thing in the room that had any color were a few flecks sprouting from behind his bed. Jeremy grabs his duffel bag and begins filling it with enough clothes to last him a week, along with some deodorant. He picks up his brush and fixes his hair before throwing the it in the bag too. He walks over to his bed and grabs the stash of money hidden under the mattress. Jeremy stuffs the money into his back pocket and grabs his blanket. He folds it up and stuffs it into the duffel bag. Jeremy grabs the bag and walks out of his room, closing his door behind him. He walks down the stairs with more ease.

Thankfully, the pains were barely noticeable now. Jeremy smiles as he pats his torso. It definitely hurt with direct contact, but twisting didn't hurt as much. Jeremy walks into the kitchen and takes the bottle of Tylenol just in case. He goes through the cabinets and begins taking out what he wants to pack. Pop Tarts, crackers, and a few bags of chips were good. Jeremy took the bread since his father never really ate it. He looks through the cabinets again, and takes a few more things that his dad probably wouldn't even know went missing. Jeremy grabs a a good amount of water bottles before leaving the kitchen. He picks up his backpack by the door and looks around one last time. There wasn't anything popping out to the brunette as an important item. He walks out of the house and bounces down the steps. He looks to his neighbor's house to say hello properly, like usual, but find that Ms. Bonita and her grandchild had gone inside. Jeremy frowns a little, but shrugs it off. Sofia probably got bored and wanted to go inside and make sugar cookies or something. Jeremy turns away from his neighbors house and begins his walk.

The teen sits down on the abandoned park's bench after a short walk through some woods. He always came here when his father threw him out. A quiet little place of his. He takes out his spare sketch book and opens to a new page. Taking a sharpened pencil, he stares down at the blank sheet. Jeremy gulps and sighs. He begins sketching. However, the lines on this drawing were not light and gentle. Theses lines were harsh, jagged, and heavy. Jeremy gulps and blinks away tears. He isn't really focusing on the drawing. He focuses instead on the emotions. Anger, sadness and fear are fueling this picture. Jeremy feels the emotions slowly creep onto his expression, only making the desire to finish this one quickly grow. He packs away his pencil and closes the book, not bothering to sign this picture. He reopens it and smiles. He always did when he reopened this book. The first picture is of his family. His smiling mother has the usual soft and curved lines, while his father has straighter lines. Jeremy giggles at the blob he drew his baby self as. He flips to the next page. Then the next, then the next. He kept flipping through the pages, all holding a milestone in his life, until they end at his newest drawing. He stares at it for a few seconds, no remains of a smile left. The brunette goes through the pages again, this time backwards. His smile slowly reappears. He hugs the book before putting it away.

Jeremy closes his eyes and smiles from the many wonderful memories passing through his head now. He plays his favorite over and over again. His mother was washing dishes, his father was read a book in the kitchen and he had just finished a drawing of a horse. It was the best of all his drawings and he couldn't wait to show it off. His father smiled and ruffled Jeremy's hair. His mother smiled and hung it up on the fridge. The fridge was the biggest reward there was at the time. Jeremy smiled, showing his missing front tooth. The teen leans his head back and enjoys the nostalgic feeling. He chuckles and opened his eyes. The same picture was still hanging up on the fridge. Jeremy feels a tear roll down his cheek. He doesn't wipe it away. He couldn't. Tears of joy were very rare with Jeremy. When one did pop up, he was in no rush to hide it. It felt too nice to just brush off like it's any ordinary tear. He sniffs and feels it slide down his neck. It slightly tickles Jeremy before being adsorbed by his blue collar.

The artist sits up, still smiling. He reaches into the bag and grabs a strawberry pop tart and a water bottle. He unwraps his food and takes a bite. There are a few leaves being carried by a gentle breeze, flowers slightly bowing, the scent of the woods, and sunshine peeking in and out of the trees' shadows. Jeremy is alone to enjoy this wonderful scene, and he loves every second of it. He giggles as a thought crosses his mind. 'A feast and a show fit for a king,' he thinks. He thinks about trying to capture this moment onto paper, but quickly abandons it. He was not skilled enough yet. Then again, a still image on a camera, and the limited space on a camcorder wouldn't be able to capture the beauty either. Jeremy adores this moment before it leaves for those reasons.

"This i-is going to b-be a good week," Jeremy says to myself.


	5. Awkward

Jeremy leans back on the old bench and soaks in the afternoon sun. He takes out his phone to open his calendar app. He marks the day a week from now. His father told him not to come back home until then. Jeremy thinks of his father for a second and puts his hand on the biggest bruise. The bruise is a little smaller than the teen's fist and is without a doubt very noticeable. Hopefully Vincent won't see it and hurt his father. Jeremy hates avoiding the truth like he had before. He just felt uncomfortable, but it isn't like he had a choice. Then again, maybe he won't have to show Vincent. It was under a special circumstance that's Vincent saw his body. It won't happen again. Alright then, appearance won't be a problem.

However, movement will be a little harder. Maybe because Jeremy hadn't really bounced around him, Vincent won't notice much of a difference. Jeremy wasn't very energetic as he normally when he was around Vincent or Scott. Maybe they don't even know he has other emotions other than just shy and "weeaboo mode". Then again, Jeremy is being to get clingy to Vincent. If he clings to Vincent's arm again, his elbow would definitely press against a few bruises. Not to mention Vincent's arm might press against some too. Maybe Jeremy could just act sick until they were heeled a little bit more. Jeremy could act sore and delicate from sickness, but he would have to lie. He sighs and lets the sickness idea go. 'Well, at least it's just two people I have to hide from,' Jeremy thinks. He smiles and nods at his thought. It will be easy to keep a secret from just two people.

He takes out the small bag of potato chips and licks his lips. Just as he takes out a chip his phone begins ringing. Jeremy glares at his phone and shakes his head. He could put up with being interrupted from sleep twice, but interrupting him from his food is crossing the line! Jeremy begins eating, not caring about his phone. It rings over and over, but the teen just puts it on silent mode and ignores it. After about ten tries, the caller stops. Jeremy smiles and eats the last few potato chips. They didn't really fill him, but the amazing taste is enough for him. He finally picks up his phone after licking his fingers. An unknown number had called. It was probably Vincent, worrying again. He calls the number back. The caller quickly answers.

"Hey V-Vince. I'm sorry I didn't p-pick up. Are you mad?" Jeremy says, a hint of guilt in his voice. He waits for an answer for a few seconds, growing more tense the longer he waits.

"Oh great, I have to deal with a stuttering twerp," A voice mutters. Jeremy gulps and feels red rush to his cheeks. "Scott asked me to watch you for the day so make this easy for me and get over here." The voice said. The teen's breathing increases and he slowly brings his legs up to curl into a weak stance. The blush has darkened and Jeremy almost feels vulnerable. The man on the other end is obviously waiting for Jeremy to speak. The teen takes a shaky breath and clears his throat.

"A-a-alright, but where are y-y-you exactly?" Jeremy asks. He sounds weaker than he hoped. The man gives a sigh and pauses.

"I'm at Scott's. He lives with... Vincent. Know where it is?" He asks, sounding very agitated. Jeremy nods. He curls into a smaller ball and hides behind his hair, thankful the man can't see him.

"Y-y-yes. I'll be there sh-sh-shortly." Jeremy says. He didn't try masking his nervousness this time. The man hangs up without another word. Jeremy sighs in relief and puts away his phone. He stands and notices his legs were slightly shaking along with knots in his stomach. He takes a few deep breathes, hoping to calm his nerves. His body refuses to listen. He grabs his duffel bag and book bag and looks at the trail. 'Vincent will be there soon, so don't be scared.' Jeremy told himself. He forces his shaking legs to move. 'Scott just wants him to watch you for a bit. You'll be ok.' He continues, still trying to calm himself. He keeps looking forward, allowing his pace to slow down just a bit. Jeremy makes it out of the forest a little too soon for his liking, and looks to the road leading to Vincent's house. He gulps and continues his walk.

Now at the familiar house, Jeremy hesitates on knocking. His nerves are still messing with him. He raises his hand and hesitates knocking. He still feels unsafe being here, but he knows Vincent will be angry if he leaves now. Jeremy slowly lowers his hand. He begins weighing the pros and cons of each decision. If he left, there'd be angry and worried Vincent, but angry can't last forever. If he stays, there's a stranger who may or may not be dangerous. Leaving sounds pretty good now.

"Kid! Snap out of it!" A voice shouts in his face. Jeremy flinches and falls backwards. When he looks up a hand is shoved in his face. The teen just stares at it before slowly taking it. He's yanked up to meet a scowling face. Jeremy wishes he turned back when he had the chance. The man shoves Jeremy into the house and closes the door behind him. Jeremy looks down at the man's shoes once he regains his balance.

"So you're Jerry?" the man asks. Jeremy shakes his head, not daring to look up.

"M-My name's J-J-Jeremy." Jeremy mutters. The man shifts his weight to one foot.

"Jeremy. Go sit on the couch. I'm going to McDonald's. Want something?" He asks. Catching Jeremy off guard, he raises his head a little.

"U-Um a b-big mac and uh some fr-fries would be n-nice. A s-sprite would be nice too, i-if you have enough m-money." Jeremy says. The man walks out of Jeremy's view and opens the door.

"...Work on that stutter. It's unbelievably annoying." The man says and leaves. Jeremy sighs and nods. 'My stupid stutter is annoying...' The teen thinks. He walks over the couch and sits down, not bothering to take off his backpack or duffel bag. He just sits and waits. Last time he checked, the closest McDonald's was only a few minutes away. Jeremy smiles and licks his lips. It had been around a year and a half since he ate there. He's absolutely in love with the food. The salty fries, the delicious meat and of course his favorite soda. He chuckles when he remembers how excited he was for the toys back when he was a kid. He always took his food out first and went straight for the toy. Ah, those were the good old days.

Food is suddenly thrown into Jeremy's lap. He jumps and looks up. The man had returned without Jeremy noticing. He sits down and begins eating his food. Jeremy looks back do to his lap and takes the fries out. He tries one and smiles. It tastes better than Jeremy remember. He doesn't stop himself from stuffing his face full with fries and burger. The man looks over at the teen. Jeremy is basically inhaling his food, already half way done. The man shakes his head and focuses back on his own burger. He eats a little faster when Jeremy throws his now clean wrapper in the empty McDonald's bag. The man tries not to stare at Jeremy, but the teen was eating like it's an Olympic sport. Jeremy leans back with his hand resting on his stomach, sipping his drink. He finally notices he's being watched and blushes in embarrassment.

"I-I'm uh I'm a little addicted to M-McDonald's, heh heh," Jeremy says, chuckling a bit. The man gives a small chuckle and nods, continuing on his burger.

"So, um, wh-what's your n-name?" Jeremy asks, hoping to keep a conversation going.

"Mike Schmidt. Don't call me Micheal. It gets on my nerves." Mike says. Jeremy nods.

"I-is it alright if I-I call you Mr. Schmidt?" Jeremy asks. Mike glances at him before answering.

"Yeah, sure. But wouldn't it be easier to call me Mike?" Mike asks. Jeremy nods.

"Yes, b-but it shows respect to t-talk others who are older than m-me in a formal and r-respectful manner." Jeremy answers, turning his body to face Mike. Mike looks at Jeremy with a surprised expression.

"You're a friend of Vincent's right?" Mike asks. Jeremy nods again.

"...How? Vincent is most annoying and absolutely the most disrespectful person I ever met!" Mike growls. Jeremy looks down and shrugs.

"I-I can be friends with a-anyone really." Jeremy mutters. He lifts his head, but keeps his eyes on the ground. Mike smirks.

"Bullshit." He says and crosses his arms. "I bet you can be friends with me." Jeremy chuckles before replying.

"Well friend-shships start with a c-conversation, and you're talking t-to m-me aren't you?" Mike's smirk disappears. He puts on a glare and looks away, grumbling something too quietly for Jeremy to hear. The teen scolds himself for stopping the progress he was making. He looks around for an idea for another conversation. He decides on some more basic information to try to ease Mike back into a better mood. He clears his throat and hopes he gained the man's attention.

"H-How long have you b-been working at Freddy's?" Jeremy asks. Mike takes out his phone, not bothering to answer. Jeremy taps his fingers on his lap while waiting for an answer. Mike didn't look up from his phone. Jeremy glances around after a minute of waiting. He starts playing with the sleeves of his blue shirt.

"Um do you w-work night shifts only o-or do you work days and nights?" Jeremy asks and leans closer. Mike ignores the question again. Jeremy sighs and leans back. He messes with his bangs as he waits. Mike eyes don't leave his phone's screen. Jeremy looks down and tries one last time for a conversation.

"So what a-are you doing?" Jeremy asks quietly with no enthusiasm. Mike groans and glares at Jeremy.

"I'm talking to my girlfriend, alright." Mike growls. Jeremy hesitates before talking.

"Th-that's nice. What's h-her name?" Jeremy asks a little louder. Mike rolls his eyes.

"...Doll." Mike says. Jeremy nods.

"How is she?" The boy asks, hoping for another chance a conversation. Mike shoots a glare.

"She's fine. Now will you shut up!" Mike shouts. Jeremy flinches and nods. Mike turns back to his phone as Jeremy moves away from the man. Jeremy sighs and takes out his homework. Anything is better than waiting in silence. 2 pages of algebra, 2 writing assignment and a Spanish worksheet, as usual. He looks down at his algebra and begins calculating numbers in his head.

Jeremy relaxes as he puts his the last page of his essay in his binder. It took about an hour, but he is finally done digging his way out from under his pile homework. He looks to Mike, who's staring at the ceiling and eating chips. Jeremy hesitates at the thought of talking again. Mike looked like he was about to beat Jeremy if he said another word. The teen sighs and hugs his legs. He rest his chin on his knees and stares at the wall. Mike crumbles the now empty bag and chucks it into the kitchen. Jeremy guesses it made it to the trash can since Mike didn't grunt or glare or curse. The man continues looking at the ceiling. Jeremy gently rocks back and forth. There isn't much else for him to do to pass the time.

Thankfully, Jeremy hears the jingling of a door knob. Jeremy jumps up and hugs Vincent when he finally enters the room. Vincent hugs back tight and swings the small boy around. Scott moves to Mike and pats his shoulder. Mike looks up and smiles. Violet however, just rolls her eyes and walks up the stairs. Vincent quickly snaps his head towards Mike and sends at death glare. Mike sends one back. They walk to each as they ball their fists. Vincent grabs Mike's collar.

"What the fuck are you doing here, you little shit!?" Vincent shouts.

"For your information, Scott wanted me to watch over that little brat!" Mike yells back. Vincent's eye twitches.

"How dare you call Jeremy a brat!" Vincent shouts as loud as he could. He takes a swing and knocks Mike to the ground.

"Oh you're in for it now, you purple fuck!" Mike yells and charges at Vincent. He picks the purple haired man up and slams him on the ground. Vincent coughs after the air is knocked out of him. Mike pins Vincent and raise his fist. He throws his punch. Vincent catches his fist and slams his head against Mike's. Scott picks the dazed man up before more violence could erupt. Mike gently touches his forehead and hisses. There's definitely a bump. Vincent stands and fixes his shirt, completely unaffected. Vincent hears quiet little whimpers and turns his head to the source. Jeremy's hugging a pillow and staring at Mike. Vincent feels his heart break a little at seeing the fear in Jeremy's eyes. Vincent sits down close to Jeremy and places a hand on the boy's. Jeremy doesn't flinch or move away. Vincent rubs Jeremy's arm then slowly pulls him into a hug. Jeremy tenses up and struggles, but relaxes almost just as quickly.

"Scott, Mike has to leave. Now." Vincent growls. Scott raises an eyebrow.

"But you two have fought before and you didn't want him out. What's up?" Scott asks. Vincent tilts his head at Jeremy.

"You don't see this poor boy? He's shaking like a damn leaf!" Vincent exclaims, causing Jeremy to shake even more. "I'm sorry Jere. It's ok. I'm not going to do anything." Vincent says and rubs the boy's back. Jeremy nods. Mike stares at Jeremy in confusion.

"What's with the twerp?" Mike asks. Vincent snaps his head towards Mike. Scott steps between the two and shakes his head at Mike, who rolls his eyes.

"Jeremy here has been through some tough stuff so fighting makes him very anxious." Scott explains. Mike looks over to Jeremy. Jeremy looks down and moves closer to Vincent. The purple haired man brings Jeremy closer and tries calming him. Mike looks away and rubs the back of his head. He mumbles an apology. Jeremy slowly lets down his arms and smiles. Mike smiles back. Vincent clears his throat and keeps glaring at Mike. Mike uses every once of willpower not to start another fight. Scott sits next his friend and turns on the tv.

"Nothing good's on." Mike says and pulls out his phone. Scott surfs through the channels despite the comment. Channel after channel, nothing too interesting caught any of their eyes. Football flashes on and Jeremy's suddenly surrounded by cheers and claps. The boy groans. He hates football. It's so violent and he never did understand the rules from watching it alone. Get the ball to one side and do a dance was all he ever got out of the sport. He suddenly remembers he has his sketching tools and feels a little silly for not remembering sooner. He takes out his sketchbook, thankful the guys are now distracted. He continues working on the theoretical female version of himself. Nothing to far from what his normal self. Except the...boobs. Jeremy blushes as his draws them. A hand is placed on his shoulder, making Jeremy jump and gasp. He hides the sketch against his chest as he looks up. Violet's staring down at him with a smirk. She motion him to follow her as she walks to the stairs. Jeremy obediently complies.

Violet leads the shy teen into her room. Jeremy looks around the surroundings. Everything's purple and white...how surprising. Violet closes the door and sits on a beanbag. Jeremy sits in the one next to her and closes his book. She picks up a large box by her dresser and looks at Jeremy.

"U-Um eh-what's that?" Jeremy asks. Violet giggles.

"It's makeup sily!" Violet responds. Jeremy's eyes widen. He runs for the door, but Violet tackles him.

"C'mon! I saw your drawing! You should enjoy this!" Violet says. Jeremy shakes his head.

"I-It was just o-out of curiosity!" Jeremy says and claws at the carpet. Violet and flips him over and pins his arms with her legs. She holds up a makeup brush. Jeremy continues to squirm and struggles as Violet look through her eyeshadows. She holds his face still and starts applying it. Jeremy whimpers and stops struggling once his left eye is started on. He just hopes she'll be done soon and then he could wipe the disgusting substance off. Violet works quickly with the eyeshadow and finishes with mascara and eyeliner. She smiles at her masterpiece and starts on the other eye. Jeremy sighs and tries his best not to roll his eyes. Violet finishes his right eye as quickly as his left and picks up lipstick and blush. Jeremy groans and tries to move away again. Violet squeezes him and applies the blush in a few quick seconds. She squeezes his cheeks, making Jeremy pucker his lips, and applies the lipstick. She puts the cap back on and gives a thumbs up for the teen to move. He instantly shoots up, knocking Violet of him, and looks at the mirror. He's expecting to see a bad excuse for a Halloween costume, but surprisingly, he looks beautiful.

It sickens Jeremy. The blended brown on his eyes, the artificial blush, the gleam on his lips. He wants to brake the mirror so badly and wipe the horrible colors off his face. He stares at his face and holds himself back from creating a scene. Violet's too busy putting away her tools to notice Jeremy's trembling. He holds down the anger and disgust inside. Violet sits next to him, never noticing his locked gaze. She smiles again and nudges his side.

"S' work of art, am I right?" Violet asks. Jeremy hesitates before answering. He wants to scream 'No!' in her face, but scorns himself for thinking of such a horrible idea.

"I-I-I love i-it," Jeremy lies. Violet doesn't notice. Jeremy guesses she's to caught up in her own ego boost to even care. He sighs and look down at his lap. His heart rate quickens as he hears the doorknob click open. His gaze slowly creeps up the mirror. He excepts the usual beast with flaring nostrils to be standing right behind him, ready to make the kill. The beast is not there. The beast is not there? Jeremy looks in confusion at Mike's face. The teen turns around to face the man.

"Hey Vi, where's the bathr-" Mike starts saying, but stops at seeing Jeremy's face. Violet's face goes pale, while Jeremy stays still, not moving a single muscle. They all stare at each other in shock. It feels like hours of awkwardness before the silence is broken.

"Why's the dweeb wearing makeup?" Mike asks.


	6. Wait, you know Doll?

"Why's the dweeb wearing makeup?" Mike asks. Violet's mouth opens to says something, but no words come out. Jeremy snaps out of his shock and quickly covers his face.

"G-get out! Get o-out get out get o-out!" Jeremy shouts. Violet grabs the nearest pillow and pegs it at Mike. He catches it and tosses it to the ground. Violet throws more at Mike.

"Dad! Daddy! Get him out!" Violet shrieks. Mike's eyes widen as he hears footsteps rush up the staircase. Scott and Vincent rush pass Mike to their daughter. Jeremy keeps his face covered just in case one of them glances over. Violet points to Mike and shouts for him to get out again. Scott sighs and rolls his eyes. Vincent, on the other hand, gets ready to pounce. Scott grabs Vincent by his hair before more fighting can erupt. The tall man snaps his fingers to get Mike's attention before motioning for Mike to go. Thankfully, he did so without a complaint. Scott lets go of Vincent's hair, who instantly runs after Mike. Scott facepalms.

"Th-thank you, Scott. I-I'm sorry I c-caused more trouble for y-you." Jeremy says quietly. Jeremy's head is now tilted down and to the side, making his hair cover most of his face. Scott notices Jeremy's brightened lips and leans closer. He slowly turns the boy's head with little resistance. Jeremy gulps and averts his eyes from Scott, too scared to see his reaction. Scott moves his hand away and lets Jeremy hide his face again.

"You look beautiful, Jere," Scott says and stands up. Jeremy snaps his head up in surprise. Scott smiles and closes the door on his way out. Jeremy stares at where his friend stood, still in shock. Unlike his past experiences, there was no yelling or hitting or anything. He pats his cheeks, his neck and his torso to make sure there aren't any new marks. None. His surprise is cut short when Violet shoves a makeup wipe in his face. Jeremy takes it and quickly wipes away his painted face. Violet mutters an apology as she rubs her arm. Jeremy just nods to acknowledge it and throws the used wipe away. They sit and look around the room. Jeremy didn't feel like starting another conversation, so he sits and stares at her stuffed animals. Violet rubs her arm and glances around the room every once in a while.

The sounds of shouts and breaking glass suddenly boom from down stairs. Jeremy jumps 10 feet into the air while Violet sighs and shakes her head. She rests her cheek on her hand and plays with her shoe strings. Jeremy stares at his lap. It feels like the fighting in this house never ends. Violet ignores it with music and looks out the window. Jeremy hugs his knees tight as the front door slams shut. He can feel the dresser he's leaning against vibrate and wobbles a bit by the force. Jeremy hopes that now there's one less person, the fighting would stop. Unfortunately, his hope is almost instantly squashed. There was only a moment or two of silence before the fighting resumed. It's a little quieter and a bit less violent, but still fighting. Jeremy feels his stomach knot up. He feels like he's about to vomit, but he feels too tense to even allow that bit of movement.

Violet nudges Jeremy with her foot, causing him to jump and shake. She stands and holds out a hand. His takes it and helps himself up. Violet still has her music blasting. Jeremy holds his stomach again once a sharp pain reminds him to. She motions him to follow as she leaves her room. Jeremy does so obediently. Violet guides the shaking teen to the stairs and start walking down. Jeremy can hear the argument clearly now.

"...and just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean you can decide who I'm allowed to bring into our house!" Scott yells. He's in the living room with Vincent.

"I don't want to control you at all, but don't bring that asshole into our house! He can't keep his fucking temper down! You want that rubbing off on Violet!? And what about Jeremy!? You honestly think having Mike here is going to help him!? He's scare of his own shadow!" Vincent yells back. Violet and Jeremy tiptoe into the darkened kitchen. They sneak by the wall separating the two groups.

"First of all, do you really think it's Mike's temper that's going to rub off on Violet? And second of all, Mike is someone he's bound to meet! And besides, what if being introduced to new people often is helping his shyness? You don't know him well enough to know what he's thinking! You just met the kid! Do you honestly think you know him!?" Scott growls. Vincent paused. Jeremy stops following Violet halfway through way by the wall. He's too intrigued too go on. Violet continues to the front door. When she glances back to him, he holds up a finger and tilts his head in the direction of her fathers. She rolls her eyes and glares.

"I just want to help help him. He had bruises all over him. I think even a bite mark. I...I don't know. It just... bothered me I guess." Vincent says lowly.

"What? Is he your "good deed" or something? You don't give a damn about anyone but yourself, me and Violet. Your unsympathetic, perverted, and over-protective. So tell me, what's different with him hm? What is he so damn special that you wouldn't just fuck him and kick him out like normal?"

"Well that was the plan. We need more staff so you know, why not give a job? But when I brought him back and when I was going to fuck him, he... he didn't even fight back. Most of the time they do, even if it's just a little bit, but he didn't. He just turned his head and just let it happen. When I rolled up his shirt he had all these bruises and cuts. He is shy and small so maybe a few bruises from a bully I can understand, but Scott listen to me, something is going on with Jeremy. He looked like a fucking cheetah. I was almost sick. We can't let him go back to where ever he's being hurt!" Vincent shouts. There's a long silence between Scott and Vincent.

"...Alright...he stays..." Scott says, sounding defeated. Jeremy decides to finally tiptoe to Violet, who still has a sour expression. They silently open and close the door. Violet hops down the steps of the front door and walks down her lawn. Jeremy follows behind and notices the living room light go out. He rubs his arm and looks around as he follows. There isn't anybody else around. It's not that surprising since it is getting pretty dark. Jeremy follows a little closer as the eerie scenery is starting to get to him. A car passes by them with their heads lights on and Jeremy almost screams at two figures by a fence. He gulps and blushes as he quickly realizes it's just their shadows. Violet rolls her eyes at Jeremy's slight jump and gasp. She nudges the scared teen with her elbow and points at a convent store. She picks up her pace, making Jeremy also pick up his.

Violet enters and quickly moves to the candy section. She picks out as much candy as she could afford and stares at Jeremy. He stared back, not really knowing what that meant. She rolls her eyes again and nods her head toward the candy filled shelves. Jeremy gives a quick apology and takes only two bags of candy. Violet goes to the counter and pays. They walk out with arms full of bags and $30 poorer now. Violet plops down on the corner and instantly begins rummaging through all her bags. She whips out her gummy bears with a huge, triumphant smile. She rips it open and begin devouring the squishy bears. Jeremy sits next to Violet and gently puts his bags near hers. He looks at nothing too particular while Violet feasts. One minute passes.

Then five minutes.

Then 15.

Then 20...

Jeremy's beginning to get bored of the silence and the vague sound of squishing gummies. He keep glancing around, wanting some type of noise. He starts with making small noises to himself, but that doesn't really help passed the time. he glances over to Violet, who was now on her sixth candy bag. Jeremy takes a deep breath before starting a conversation.

"U-Uh, so um h-how are they?" Jeremy asks with a soft smile. She barely moves her eyes, and doesn't answer. His smile falters a little, but he decides to try again before he dies from boredom.

"You s-sure like candy huh. Wh-what's your favorite?" Jeremy asks again. Again no response. Sighing, he begins rubbing the side of his head, but that quickly escalates into him turning his hair into a tornado of brown strands. Violet only gives a slight questioning look. He frowns.

"O-Oh come one! You don't r-react even a little to th-that?" Jeremy asks with a slight whine. Violet facepalms and looks back at Jeremy.

"I have been reacting. In fact I've been overreacting this entire time, so can I please take a break from being dramatic. Didn't you seen my eyebrows move? That was a reaction wasn't it?" She asks. Jeremy pauses and turns his gaze to the ground.

"Th...then why d-do you talk a-and act so dram-matically?" Jeremy asks. Violet's lip twitched.

"You're an inquisitive little bugger aren't you," Violet mutters.

"Sorry about being "inquisitive", but if you haven't noticed yet, I've never had interactions like these before. I'm just curious" Jeremy says with a smile. Violet nods, but focuses back to her seventh bag of candy. Jeremy's smile fades and he sighs. He taps his foot and lays down. The stars are twinkling against the black sky. The full moon highlights the clouds' curves. The sight was easy to get lost in for Jeremy. Unfortunately, Violet cut off his enjoyment by poking his rib. She stands and begins walking away. Jeremy gathers his bags and follows behind her.

Once back at the house Violet starts tiptoeing again. She takes out a key from her shirt and unlocks the door. All the lights were off so they enter and walk to the stairs without sneaking around. Before they could take a step, Vincent's voice calls out.

"Well look who decided to come back. You two get over here now." Vincent orders. They turns around and walk into the darkened living room. Vincent has a scowl illuminated by the moonlight. Jeremy felt smaller and smaller the closer he got. He hangs his head out of guilt and regret. Violet has a different stance, though. She barely seems bothered. Vincent stands and walks up to his daughter.

"Violet, what do you think you are doing?" He asks.

"Coming home after we went to Wawa," Violet replies very calmly.

"No. What you are doing is sneaking out and not only endangering yourself, but Jeremy as well, for your sugar fix. That's what you're doing. Care to tell me why?" Vincent asks. Jeremy feels the anger Vincent is holding back. Again, not bothered at all, she calmly speaks.

"We wanted sweets." Violet replies. Jeremy silently admires her for her lack of fear. Vincent turns his gaze to him.

"Jeremy," Vincent says sternly. "Were you craving sweets? Did you think it was appropriate to sneak out and eavesdrop on someone who gave you a job, gave you a home and gave you friends and a family? And did you really think you were safe walking around in the dark? You, a scrawny pipsqueak, and Violet, a pretty teen girl?" Jeremy gulps and feels worse with each word Vincent says. He can't form words to express how much regret he feels, so he lowers his head instead.

"I-I'm so so so s-sorry," Jeremy whispers. He can't think of anything else to say. He feels so ashamed. Vincent places a hand on Jeremy's nest of a hair and sighs.

"You two just go up stairs. I'll deal out punishments in the morning." Vincent says and nudges the teens to the stairs. They walk up and to their rooms. Violet whispers an apology so quietly that Jeremy nearly misses it. He doesn't say anything and walks to his room. He sets down his two candies on the nightstand and lays down. He lazily kicks his shoes off and pulls up the covers to only show his eyes. He whimpers and lets the guilt wash over him. He stares at the full moon and holds back the tears.

Three days had passed since then. Vincent hadn't given out punishments yet, and it was killing Jeremy. The boy barely spoke and left his room at the house, and at work he isolated himself. Jeremy's only interactions were with the children, but even then there weren't many. Just a kid or two asking where the bathroom was or something like that. They avoided him like he was a psycho. Today is no different. The kids still avoided Jeremy to play with their friends and Jeremy resided in a corner of the rooms he monitors. He stares at the clock, waiting for his shift to be over so he can completely isolate himself again. There are only a few more minutes left since the two families couldn't get their children to leave. Vincent and Scott work to try to get them to go faster, since they also wanted to go back home. The two families finally leave and Jeremy smiles and sighs. Scott and Vincent grab sweeps to clean up the greasy messes on the floor like every day and Jeremy goes to put the abandoned stuffed animals on the floors back into their box homes. He quickly grabs them and quickly throws them into the small boxes around Marionette's. His room was taken care of in less than a minutes, as it had been the few days before. As Jeremy is about to sprint from the room, his phone vibrates. He quickly takes his phone and frowns. His father...

'Jeremy we neeed food. Jiuces lunch meats chips and shit lijke that. Leave they on the door step'

Jeremy puts his phone back in his pocket and quickly walks to the door. He calls out that he's going food shopping for his father as he walks. Jeremy runs from his work to familiar streets leading to the grocery store. He takes a break on the dark street before the traffic picks up. He leans on a tree and looks around the street. The near silence, the darkness, the isolation, Jeremy smiles as he finally returns to something that he knows well. All the sudden interactions he wasn't sure how to handle was being to be too much. He felted almost like he stepped into someone else's life. The street, of all things, is what made Jeremy feels safer and more in control here. A breeze pushing against Jeremy reminds him not to get too lost in his thoughts. He sighs and keeps walking to the one place that he'll never like. Jeremy wants to take his time going to store, but his father would probably knock him out if he was too slow.

Inside the grocery store, Jeremy takes a cart begin the journey into his Hell. He quickly walks into the first isle to get the chips, and nothing had smashed into him yet. He grabs potato chips, pretzels and Doritos and looks around to make sure there weren't any chips he is missing. After confirming and he pushes the cart forward only to be stopped three steps away. Some little kid knocks over a jug of cheese puffs right in front of him. The little boy looks up at Jeremy with fear on his face. Jeremy smiles and moves around the orange pile. A woman rushes to her child and begins scolding him as Jeremy leaves the isle.

Since his father usually ran out of chips and bread at the same time, Jeremy goes to the bread isle next. He makes sure to spot the specific type of bread his father eats. Jeremy would definitely get a few hits if he got the wrong one again. He quickly scans the shelves and sees the bread. On the highest shelf... He sighs and reaches for it, but doesn't come close to touching it. Jeremy curses quietly for his height. He stands on his toes and still can't reach. He thinks about jumping, but that would draw attention to the shy teen and might hurt him. There were bruises still healing on legs and Jeremy was afraid he would hurt himself. He sighs and puts his hands on his waist, glaring up at the bread through his hair. He thinks about asking for someone's help, but he knows he would crumble under a stranger's gaze. He bites his lip and sighs again.

"Let me get for you," A man says and grabs the bread easily. Jeremy smiles and takes it.

"O-oh thank you th-thank you!" Jeremy says happily.

"Jeremy? That you?" The man asks. Jeremy looks at the man. Mike. Jeremy looks at the ground and nods. Mike looks over to the shelves.

"So u-uh what are you d-doing out? I th-thought you went back h-home." Jeremy asks.

"Yeah. I uh did, but Doll sent me shopping. What are you doing out? I didn't think Vincent would ever let you off your leash." Mike chuckles a little. Jeremy forces a smile.

"U-Uh yeah. Heh. Dad w-wanted me to get h-him food. V-Vincent can't really d-do anything there." Jeremy says.

"Your dad huh?" Mike asks. Jeremy stops smiling and nods. They go silent for a few minutes.

"Um hey uh I can give you ride, if you want." Mike suggests. Jeremy smiles and nods.

"I j-just have a few m-more th-things to pick up. Is th-that ok?" Jeremy asks. Mike nods.

"I'll uh follow you around. I got some time before my shift starts." Mike says and grabs his almost full cart. Jeremy nods and leads the way to the frozen isle.

After completing their shopping, Mike and Jeremy load up the car and wait for the GPS to start working. Mike apologizes for it and continually curses as it doesn't follow his commands. Jeremy almost laughs at how easily Mike could be set off. When it finally starts working, Mike and pulls out of the parking lot and starts driving to Jeremy's house. They say almost nothing to each other the entire drive, just watching the scenery pass by, which Jeremy loves. The quiet is still very nice.

Mike pulls up to Jeremy's house and puts a hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

"If you want, I could stay here and drive you back to Scott's," Mike says. Jeremy nods and takes the grocery bags. As he gets closer to the house, Jeremy can hear the laughs of a woman. He feels a tug at his heart and puts the grocery bags down. He jumps to the conclusion that his father started dating again, since he didn't have any friends that came over. He never thought that his dad would ever look for another woman after his mom had died. Jeremy knocks on the door, whips around and runs to Mike's car. Mike opens his mouth to speak, but can't find the right words. He pats Jeremy's back and drives away from the house.

Jeremy is still in disbelief that the scumbag he calls father would ever try to replace the goddess he called mother. He starts shaking from the extreme amount of rage he feels. He finally looks up from his lap. They were at a house? Already?

"Just gotta drop off the groceries. I'll be a few minutes." Mike says and gets out. Jeremy decides to be useful and gets out to help. Mike took only a few bag while Jeremy took as many his hands could lift. He quickly hurries behind Mike and puts them in the kitchen, next to the others. When Jeremy turns around he nearly knocks into a girl. He jumps back and screams in fear. She smiles and screams in excitement. Mike comes running in and stares at the screaming duo.

"What happened!?" He shouts. Jeremy gulps.

"Mikey! It's Jerebear!" She shrieks and jumps onto Jeremy, who falls over. Mike looks at Jeremy in confusion.

"Wait, you know Doll?" He asks.


	7. A childhood friend

"Wait, you know Doll?" Mike asks. Doll squeals again and hugs Jeremy tighter.

"Of course he does! Don't cha Jerebear?" Doll asks. Jeremy doesn't say anything. He only knew one girl, but Jeremy hasn't seen her since sixth grade.

"...P-Peaches? Is...is that y-you?" Jeremy asks, readying himself for disappointment. Doll's face lights up.

"Yes! It's Peaches!" She shouts and kisses his cheeks. Jeremy stares in shock before cracking a smile. He hugs her tight and shoots up. Doll giggles and allows Jeremy to lift her up and spin in a circle. After fifth spin, Jeremy puts Doll down and stares at her again. They giggle and hug each other one more time. Doll holds Jeremy's hands and pulls him to the living room without any resistance. They plop down on the couch and squeeze each other's hands tighter. Doll rips her attention away from her friend for a second to glance at Mike, who stood by the couch next to theirs.

"Jerebear, how do you know Mike? I don't think you two would've gone to the same high school." Doll asks. Jeremy nods.

"I went to g-get a job, which was a-actually pretty weird experience, and u-um the guy who g-got me the j-job let me stay with him. Well M-Mike, him and his boyfriend kn-know each other and apparently he w-works the night shift at my work pl-place too." Jeremy explains. Doll nods and stands.

"You still like tea right? How about I make us some?" She asks. The two male nods. Doll smiles and walks to the kitchen. Jeremy and Mike glance at each other. Mike sits on the other couch and pats his lap. A beagle comes running around the corner, nails clacking against the hardwood floor. It jumps up into Mike's lap and licks his face, making him chuckle. Doll comes back in balancing three plates of pound cake and three full cups of tea. She distributes the cake and tea then sits next to her boyfriend. Doll quickly looks back over to Jeremy.

"So Jere, since you have a job and all, how's your life going? Did your um dad get you in the mood to move out or what?" She asks and takes a bite of pound cake.

"M-my life is the s-same as it was, ups and downs, u-ups and downs. U-um, my grades in school have been pr-pretty good, but it did kinda droop for a l-little while a-after you left. I got my job th-through a friend and I'll tell you a-about that in a sec. O-Oh, uh, my dad got a new girlfriend recently." Jeremy says with a happy tone. Doll, who was about to drink her tea, halts and glances at him. She focuses back on her drink and sips before talking.

"So...you are still around him then?" Doll asks. Jeremy shrugs.

"Well I-I just moved out. I-into Vincent's house." Jeremy says and begins eating his pound cake. She smiles.

"Good. As for me, I met Mikey here at school through tutoring a few years ago and we had a baby." Doll says as she lifts her dog into the air. Jeremy smiles and bows his head.

"Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba!" Jeremy chants. Doll giggles at the Lion King quote and puts down her terrified dog. Mike pets it to calm it down.

"So how do you two know each other?" Mike asks. They pause and look at each other, neither one answering.

"...Tutoring too!" Doll says. Jeremy looks down to his tea and nods. He quickly sucks down the rest and motions Doll for more. She takes it and leaves the room. Jeremy barely moves his gaze. Mike looks to the dog in his lap. It climbs on to the arm of the couch and walks onto Jeremy's couch. The teen allows it to walk onto his lap and licks his face. He smiles and pets it. The dog licks Jeremy's neck, making him burst out laughing. The dog stops and lays down in Jeremy's lap. Doll returns with a smile on her face and hands Jeremy his tea. He smiles and takes it, letting the curious dog sniff it.

Mike's phone rings, grabbing everyone's attention. He looks at his phone and ignores the call with a scowl. He announces he wants to get to work early. Doll gives Mike a kiss before he leaves the room. She sits next to Jeremy and grabs his hands again.

"Sooooo how did you get your job hmmmmm?" Doll asks with amusement. Jeremy chuckles.

Jeremy recounted the odd experience of meeting Vincent, meeting Scott, getting his job and moving into his new home. He told about Fritz and how he really wanted the three of them to hang someday. He also told of what he had overheard a few days ago, which surprisingly hurt the teen. He mentioned the bland years of middle school and the untimely death of his mother, who had fallen down the stairs while lightheaded from blood loss and illness. Not much had changed so he didn't take much time updating Doll.

Doll had tons and tons of stories and updates to tell Jeremy. She had many new friends now and thankfully Doll sketched a face with a name and personality for Jeremy to help remember them all. Doll now helps out in a shelter for battered women and children and even wanted to have a career as a social went on and on about her many manga ideas that she wanted to accomplish with Jeremy's help. He's more than happy and promises to help her out tomorrow night. Doll squeals with delight and gives Jeremy a bear hug. Jeremy returns the bear hug and chuckles as they squeeze the life out of each other, just like they used to. They continue, trying to get the other to surrender and start pushing against each other to try to crush each other even more. Doll accidentally pushes too hard against Jeremy's left side, making him twist and tug her away from the couch. Jeremy quickly covers the back of his friend's head before they landed on the floor. Doll grunts when she makes contact with the floor and again when Jeremy lands on her. She wiggles out from under him and pushes him back onto the couch with her foot. After they catch their breaths, they start giggling at each other.

Doll picks up one of the couch pillows and hits Jeremy with it.

"You jerk! You let me fall!" She laughs. Jeremy snickers and grabs the other one, ready to start another fight.

"Y-you made me let you f-fall! At least I tried c-catching you!" Jeremy replies and whacks Doll's side. She giggles and puts the pillow back on the couch. Jeremy puts his down too. He suddenly remembers the last time they bear hugged. IT was the day before Doll left and they were watching an anime. Fate/Zero...Jeremy smirks.

"Hey Peaches," Jeremy says. Doll looks over to him.

"...Sakura had to stay in the worm pit..." Jeremy says with the evil smirk still on his face. Doll gives him a questioning look.

"Lancer didn't have to die either." Jeremy adds. Doll then realizes what he referenced and clutches her chest, whimpering about the feels. Doll couldn't stand the torture story of Sakura or the death of a character she fell in love with. Doll then remembers Jeremy had a fondness of Caster.

"Caster's master killed all those kids for no reason in the end!" Doll shoots back. Jeremy gasps and cried out about his feels. Caster's master killed many children in the search of the beautiful red art hidden inside his own body. Jeremy chuckles and starts another conversation about the anime. Mostly just about what would Sakura be like when she grew up and what would the Holy Grail do to accomplish anyone's wish. They speculate about how they can wish for world peace without the destruction of humanity, how their own wishes would be fulfilled, what exactly limited the Grail's power on a wish and if it were possible to find loop holes in the Grail's wish granting or the Master's wording. They fully explore each angle and try to think of another way to go.

After it felt like a while and they finished up their topic of how to place loop holes and how to work the work the Holy Grail if you could, Jeremy decides to check the time. He gasps. It had been three hours. Jeremy gulps and imagines Vincent's disappointed face.

"...I-I-I uh have t-to go now. I-I'll talk to you tomorrow." Jeremy says and quickly stands. Doll grabs Jeremy's phone before he could leave the room and unlocks his phone. She quickly adds her phone number in his contacts and gives it back. He smiles and hugs his friend one last time before leaving. Doll giggles and hugs back. Jeremy waves before leaving the house with a surprising pain in his chest. He really didn't want to leave his childhood friend yet, but Vincent would be furious if he stayed out any longer. Jeremy's slow walk quickly turns into a run using all his energy.

When he reaches his home's door, Jeremy's a panting, sweating mess. He didn't take any breaks during his run, fearing it would only waste time. His aching legs, pounding heart, and overworked lungs make him regret that decision. Jeremy takes deep and calm breaths before entering the house. Like before, the lights were all out. Jeremy quietly closes the door and slowly walks to the living room, head down in shame. He continued until he was in the middle of the room, facing Vincent, who was sitting in the chair, just like last time. The silence is very uncomfortable and only makes Jeremy more nervous. After a few more moments, Jeremy slowly looked up from Vincent's feet. Vincent fell asleep. Jeremy smiles and blushes at the fact that Vincent kept waiting for him. Jeremy tiptoes up to the sleeping man and gently shakes his arm. Vincent groans and slowly opens his tired eyes. He closes them and pulls Jeremy into a hug. The boy smiles and shakes Vincent again.

"V-Vince, it's really late. You should g-go upstairs to sleep. Y-you look uncomfortable." Jeremy whispers. Vincent groggily nods and stands up after Jeremy does. The boy helps the exhausted man up the stairs and to his room. Vincent hugs Jeremy and whispers.

"We're having a talk in the morning," Vincent yawns and lets go. He ruffles Jeremy's fluffy hair and enters his room. Jeremy sighs and walk into his own room. After kicking off his shoes, Jeremy flops onto the bed and falls asleep almost instantly.


	8. I hate desisions

Jeremy sits quietly in his room after a tiring day at school, surrounded by many papers. He has a creative writing paper due next week and is determined to pass with an A. Jeremy scribbles out a few words on the scratch paper next to him. The page is full of ideas for his project, but most were scribbled out. He takes his pencil and circles "the meaning of maisie's dream is actually poetic, not just random crap" as his main focus for one of the essays. He checks the time, sighing when he sees he only has a few more minutes for his writing before he has to get ready for work. He quickly jots down a few examples from her dream to pick apart later before quickly getting up.

Jeremy wiggles out of his loose plaid shirt and jeans for his light blue button up and black work pants, not bothering to take off his grey wife beater. He tucks in his shirt as he walks down the stairs. Vincent is sitting on the couch, but not wearing his uniform. Instead, he's finishing up talking to someone on his phone. The brunette boy raises an eyebrow. Vincent looks at him.

"Sorry, Jere, but Boss called called a few minutes ago. We have the day off. Apparently Chica starting glitching out earlier or something. She knocked off her beak somehow, so they closed the pizzeria for the day to repair her and check the other animatronics. We have the whole day off! Maybe even tomorrow! With pay! Isn't that great!" Vincent says happily. Jeremy nods and begins untucking his shirt, pointing at his light green sweater on the couch's arm. Vincent grabs the shirt and hands it to the teen. As he takes it, Jeremy spots red marks on his adoptive father's wrist. Dull and small, but the lines are definitely that familiar color of red. Before Jeremy can ask what happened or if that even is blood, the door bell rings. Jeremy stares at Vincent, who stares back, looking almost fearful. Vincent lets go of the sweater and rushes to the door.

"JEREBEAR!" Doll shrieks as she jumps into Jeremy with a hug. He coughs and holds Doll up as she clings tighter.

"P-Peaches? Wh-what are you d-doing here?" Jeremy asks as he regains his balance. Mike follows in behind her, yawning and glaring at everyone. He was carrying a satchel that Jeremy recognized as Doll's.

"We're having a little get-together, numnums! Vinny invited us!" Doll giggles and stands on her own feet. She fixes her flower head band and long skirt. Mike gives a slight nod and glances to Vincent, who seems even more on edge now. His hair is standing up, his eyes are a little too wide and he's definitely tensed up. Doll squishes Jeremy's cheeks and turns his head to look at her.

"Why is you necked?" Doll asks. Jeremy blushes and quickly puts on his sweater over his wife beater. Doll squeals over her friend's adorable little blush, making him blush harder. Vincent begins to chuckle as well. Doll grabs Jeremy's hand and drags him to the living room, tosses him onto the couch and sits next to him. Vincent and Mike follow them. Vincent sits in the chair, giving Mike no choice but to stand or be squished on the couch. Mike glares at the grinning man and leans against the wall.

"U-Um, so wh-what are we sup-pposed t-to do now?" Jeremy asks. Doll pats his hand.

"Now we start up a conversation, just like the ones at school." She explains. Jeremy nods and looks around the room for someone to start. Mike growls and turns his glare to Jeremy.

"What are you? Retarded?" Mike asks. Jeremy looks up to Mike, more surprised than offended. Mike had such care in his voice the night they met each other while shopping, but now he seems to have only rage to offer to the shy teen. Doll shoots a looks back up to Mike, who quickly looks away.

"No, he is not stupid, Micheal. Jeremy never had company before. This is all very new to him. I already told you that, didn't you hear me?" Doll asks with anger laced in her voice. Mike shrugs and yawns again. Doll huffs, then smiles softly at Jeremy.

"So, Jere, you know that anime "Bleach"?" Doll asks. Jeremy nods excitedly.

"Well, I started rewatching it. I'm at the part where Goku has to collect the Devil Fruit, but Naruto won't give it up." Doll says. Jeremy chuckles and rolls his eyes.

"W-well d-don't worry. Naruto gets s-sucker punched by Sailor M-Moon." Jeremy says. Doll rolls her eyes back.

"But in all seriousness, I'm still watching anime. I've been wanting to talk about one in particular. Do you know an anime called "Tokyo Ghoul"?" Doll asks and almost gets tackled by Jeremy. Doll takes the sparkles in his eyes as a yes.

"I-I just started it and I-I'm in love!" Jermey shouts. Doll giggles.

"Same. Well, I've been thinking, would a sufficient way to feed the ghouls be to have confirmed murderers or terrorists fed to the ghouls. I'm sure there enough of them to go around if their world is a slight AU of ours."

"Well that i-is a good way, but do y-you really th-think there's enough of th-those two types of criminals t-to feed an entire population of starv-ving ghouls. Sure they c-can live for a long while w-without food, but there would st-still be starvation among them. We c-could probably toss a few more cr-criminals in there, but then th-there is either a chance o-of getting an innocent man e-eaten alive, or starvation and frust-stration of the entire ghoul s-society."

"Yeah, true. The more food there is, the bigger the population can get too. There would never be enough, especially with the moral codes we have in society. Speaking of, where did the ghouls come into our society?" Doll asks. Jeremy gives a slight shrug.

"Well, where in history did ghouls begin? If they grew along side us from the dawn of mankind, back when we were more animalistic, then ghouls would have just been a predator and we would have a right to fear them. But, we kept evolving, our brain kept developing, and so did theirs. Wouldn't the idea of having a truce be best for both of our species? Way back in the Dark Ages, kings loved torturing their enemies, so wouldn't being eaten by a ghoul be a pretty good punishment too? And even before that people adored torture."

"I-I think I h-heard somewhere that they w-were introduced during th-the the 1700s or something somewhere." Jeremy says.

"Well, then that makes it even more confusing, because all of a sudden there's a new species that look exactly like a human. I think we would have hunted them into extinction seeing how we did that with the "vampires" and "witches" at that time." Doll says as she begins to think of an answer for her own question. Jeremy shrugs.

"I-I would r-really like to know wh-why ghouls can only e-eat humans. And coffee for some reason."

"Same. Probably something in our blood."

"W-well in that case, sh-shouldn't ghouls be able to l-live off of a mixture th-that contains the same ingred-dients as b-blood. Edward Elric said humans w-were pretty cheap to b-build to Rose way back in episode 3 in Brotherhood."

"True, true. Bah, I have no idea. We'll have to look it up or ask the writers ourselves or something." Doll says and glance to the two other males. Both have confused and slightly disturbed expressions. Doll can't help but giggle. She turns back to Jeremy with another topic in mind.

"Hey. Ya remember all those manga ideas we had?" Doll asks. Jeremy chuckles and nods.

"Weeeeell I was thinking about them a little while ago and I updated them a bit. I actually have a few samples, if you want to see them." Doll says and takes her sketchbook from her satchel. Jeremy takes it and flips through the pages, remembering all the cute and silly story lines they came up together. He chuckles at the couple over-the-top designs of their many characters or smiles at the amazing looking new updates. Jeremy hands back the sketchbook and smiles. He says he made character designs for a new manga he'd been thinking about too. Doll leans forward and asks him for the designs. He nods and quickly runs up the stairs, to his room, and back down to Doll. Her eyes light up as she looks at the few character designs.

"Th-they're um still a w-work-in-progress," Jeremy mumbles, blushing a little. She shows the pictures to Vincent and Mike, who're intrigued by them. They come closer as Doll turns the pages to more characters. Jeremy blushes at each compliment he receives from Vincent or Doll, or even a half smile from Mike every once in a while. Doll decides to flip to the first page without permission. Before Jeremy could protest, she turns the page. Her smile instantly drops. Vincent's eyes widen. Mike shows shock all over his face. They found one of Jeremy's depression inspired pictures. Jeremy jumps up and snatches the book from Doll's hands, hiding it behind his back. The trio stares at Jeremy, who hides behind his hair and turtle neck. The silence is awkward, but no one could think of anything appropriate to break it. They all just stare at each other and exchange uncertain looks. Doll smiles and shrugs.

"You're keeping you promise about not leaving me, right?" She asks, holding up her wrists to show a red string bracelet. Jeremy shows his wrist, bare of any bracelets.

"M-my dad broken mine, b-but yes. I'm not l-leaving yet." Jeremy says.

"Then there isn't anything to worry about." Doll says happily. Vincent and Mike exchange another uncertain look. Jeremy rubs his arm, clearly uncomfortable.

"J...Jeremy. What exactly was that?" Vincent asks. Jeremy gulps and looks away. He stays silent. Doll sits up straighter.

"It was just a drawing Vinny. That's all. It's a way to vent." She explains.

"That was not just a drawing! Jeremy was hanging by his neck with his damn organs out! I don't know about you, but I'm pretty fucking worried!" Vincent shouts in a shaky voice. Jeremy backs away slowly. Vincent turned to Mike for support, which he surprisingly gets.

"Doll, honey, that... that wasn't normal venting." Mike mumbles. Doll folds her arms.

"You don't know Jere like I do. You don't know that drawings like that aren't something to worry about too much, especially if its just 1 in 10 of his drawings!" Doll snaps. Jeremy, continues to back away. He made it to a foot away without the others noticing.

"I don't care if its 1 in a fucking million! That really fucking worries me!" Vincent shouts. Mike nods.

"Dollie, that isn't right to draw. I'm sorry, but I can't agree on just letting him be on his own." Mike says. Doll growls.

"Fine. If you don't want to believe me, then take it from the source. Jeremy!" Doll shouts, making Jeremy jump in fear.

"Do you think you'll be fine alone with your thoughts, like you always were, or do you want to stay with Vincent and get fixed by a psychologist?" Doll asks harshly. Mike and Vincent stare at Jeremy, making him even more nervous. He feels a weight in his stomach and almost feels like throwing up.

"I-I-I um I f-f-feel better when I'm a-a-around Peaches." Jeremy mumbles. Doll smiles triumphantly.

"See? If you really don't feel that Jeremy is safe like this, than give him a week a our place and he'll be all fixed up." Doll says, still holding a harsh tone. Vincent folds his arms.

"Fine! And if he's still feeling like drawing gory pictures like that, then I get to take him to therapy and get him professional help." Vincent snaps back. Jeremy gulps. He isn't too comfortable with Vincent's idea, although Jeremy knows it's the smarter and more efficient one. Vincent still holds a glare while Doll tries wiping hers away. Mike fidgets against the wall, the only one who appears to be picking up the level of discomfort this argument brought up.

Scott comes into the house with a smile. He walks into the kitchen and happily greets everyone from behind the half wall. He puts down the bags he had been carrying and begins laying out the contents. Vincent and Doll don't greet Scott back, since they're still glaring at each other. Mike never says anything so no greeting isn't unexpected. Jeremy shuffles to the kitchen to hug Scott. Scott chuckles and hugs Jeremy back. They let go as Vincent walks into the kitchen, looking slightly more calm, but still holding a frustrated expression. He grips Scott's shoulders and roughly kisses him. Scott kisses back gently and turns back the pizza boxes and fries. Vincent mumbles something too quietly into Scott's ear for the others to hear. Scott nods and tries to keep his smile.

Jeremy takes a slice of pizza, just wanting to stress eat even though he feels like he could vomit any second. He knows he won't from past experiences, though. He pours an empty glass full of the Coke Scott also brought. He quietly walks back in the living room and sits on the floor. Soon enough, the others walk in one by one. Doll and Mike sit together and feed each other like Lady and the Tramp. They laugh and try to each the piece of pizza together as romantically as possible. Vincent sits in his chair with Scott in his lap, also feed each other. Jeremy turns to his left, which of course is an empty space. He sighs and eats his pizza.

Doll begins giggling as a story pops into her head. She turns to Jeremy and pokes his shoulder.

"Jerebear, remember in 6th grade when I tripped on our walk home and I peed my pants?" Doll asks giggling. Jeremy laughs and nods. Mike begins laughing as well. Vincent and Scott look intrigued. Doll noticed their amusement.

"Well me and Jere were walking down the street to our houses, and we found two stacks of cards. They were like something dirty and then an object or a verb or something, and us with our little selves found it hilarious. So we were going and going and Jeremy says something like Ball Flaps or Zesty Testis or something and I laughed so hard I was crying. Well, little did Jeremy know, I was holding my pee in all day. So I was wiping my tears, I couldn't see and I trip over a piece of cement. I went face first into dirt and Jeremy started laughing and then I started laughing harder and then I peed myself. The look on Jeremy's face was a mixture of horror and amusement. Oh, and did I mention my pants were a very light blue? There was NO way of hiding this, so Jeremy gives my his hoodie, and underneath he was wearing a really ripped up tank top, like a really ripped up tank top. Like I mean he had a pin in it to keep it from sliding off and he had a visible nipple going on, and I remember a guy slowed down in his car to stare at us. Now image that your just going about your business, going to do some errands or something, and then you see these two little kids, one of which had pissy pants with a hoodie wrapped around her waist, and another with rags on, showing you a nip." Doll laughs. Vincent and Scott burst out laughing.

Vincent and Scott decide to join in with the conversation. Vincent tells a story of when he was a child, his teacher accidentally ripped the back of her skirt on her chair realizing it, and walked around all day with her butt cheek clearly visible. Scott says he was mad at his older brother and his friends once, so he made cookies and filled them to the brim with laxatives the next sleepover they had. One or two of the friends actually couldn't wait to use the toilet so they went in the backyard. They each go around, laughing at each other stories. They all laugh for a good hour or two. Vincent is currently telling a story of dressing Balloon Boy like a spawn of Satan to scare Mike on his second night.

"...So Mike finally wakes up at 3 am and sees my masterpiece, and I shit you not, he screams and throws the flashlight at this poor fat kid. I come out the vent laughing hysterically and he looks traumatized. I ended up cleaning up that fake blood for about an hour though, but it was beyond worth it. And thus, our hatred for each other grew three sizes that day." Vincent chuckles. Mike would have started a fight, but he's half asleep against Doll's shoulder. His head even dips every now and then. Doll grabs Mike's hand and stands up slowly enough for Mike to wake back up.

"Sorry Vincent, but Mike can't stay up any longer. You know how having the night shift messes with your sleep schedule." Doll says softly, putting on her satchel and glancing to Jeremy.

"Do you mind packing Jeremy's things and dropping them off later today or tomorrow? I'm sorry to ask this, but Mike is very tired and I would like to get him home now. He gets extremely cranky when he doesn't get his sleep." Doll says, helping Jeremy up. Vincent nods.

"I'll drop them off tonight after dinner." Vincent says and hugs Jeremy. Scott joins the hug and ruffles Jeremy's fluffy hair. Vincent kisses the top of Jeremy's head goodbye before letting go. Jeremy chuckles and grabs his sketchbook before leaving with Doll and Mike. Mike sits in the passenger's seat while Doll sits in the driver's. Jeremy sits in the back and watches as his home slowly rolls out from his sight. A pang of sadness hits his heart. Jeremy holds his chest. This feel is either loss or regret. Jeremy unfortunately can't remember which feel was which. He wonders why he's feeling either, though. He knows that after one week, he can live with Vincent and Scott again. Maybe it's because he didn't get to say goodbye to Violet, but it couldn't be helped since she's over at some friend's house. Probably will be all night knowing her habits of sneaking out. Jeremy looks back to see if his home is still in distance, but it's long gone now. He sighs and tried to ignore this feeling.

Soon, they pull out to a white house, fit for two or three people. Jeremy steps out and waits for Mike and Doll to go ahead first. When they do go into the house, Jeremy feels a sense of calm. The soft colors and the sweet scent of candles are definitely the cause. Doll closes the door behind Jeremy leads him to a hallway with only two doors. She opens both.

"You have a choice for your spare bed room. When you pick one, just tell me and I'll put some stuff you like in it. Oh and since this is your first night here, you can decide what we can eat for dinner and what we will do when Mikey does wake up. I'll see you in a bit then." Doll says happily and walks off to another part of her house. Jeremy sighs and looks between the two rooms. They look almost identical. 'Decisions,' Jeremy thinks to himself. 'I hate decisions...'


	9. This time is the last time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy gets raped in this chapter. If this is a trigger for you, then please do not read the paragraphs between the bolded words. The act will be mentioned afterwards.

Jeremy quietly eats his dinner as Mike stares him down. Jeremy wonders if maybe he'd angered Mike by asking for McDonald's for dinner. Doll had left the two alone so she can personalize Jeremy's room a little more, so maybe that was it. Jeremy sighs and keeps his focus on his dinner. After all, this is the first time he had McDonald's in a year or two. It's just as delicious and unhealthy as he remembers.

Suddenly, Mike kicks Jeremy's leg. He grunts and rubs his aching shin. Before Jeremy could ask why Mike had hurt him, Doll comes humming into the kitchen and sits at the table. Mike shoots one more death glare at the teen before smiling sweetly at Doll. She smiles back and begins rambling about some plans for the week to Mike. Jeremy tunes them out and continues eating. He shifts his position so he sits with both of his legs snuggled beneath him, not allowing Mike to kick him without Doll noticing. It's a few minutes before Jeremy's pulled into the conversation by Doll.

"Jerebear, you like museums and the aquarium still right? We could hit them up before you go back to Vinny's. You wanna do that?" Doll asks. Jeremy lets out an excited gasp and nods. Mike rolls his eyes.

"Doll, we don't know when Jeremy and I have to go back to work. We shouldn't plan anything for the week days yet. Especially if he goes to school. Are you going telling him cut his classes?" Mike says harshly. Jeremy's smile fades as he looks down. Doll crosses her arms.

"Jeremy could just skip a couple days. I doubt he missed any yet. Right, Jere?" Doll asks. Jeremy nods. He'd only missed one day of school from a particularly severe beating.

"See? Missing a couple days isn't so bad. And I'm sure no one would be curious as to where you went, if you're still as reclusive as you were back in middle school." Doll says happily. She finally starts eating her food as she continues making plans, hiding her mouth behind her hand out of courtesy. Doll had made a plan for everyday of the week. Thursday would be the trip to the aquarium, then another dinner of Jeremy's choosing, Friday would be the museum and movie night, Saturday is shopping and a nice restaurant for dinner and Sunday would be a nice day out of the house, maybe to see a movie in theatres or to go shopping for books. Whatever they wanted to do while they were out. Mike sets down his food again.

"Doll do you really think we'll have enough money for that? I only get paid minimum wage and you're still having trouble finding a job. I don't think Jeremy even got paid for his first week." Mike says again, still holding his harsh tone and icy glare. Jeremy clears his throat.

"I-I actually have, a-and I still have the money. V-Vincent and Mr. S-Scott wouldn't let m-me spend it on the b-bills, so I d-didn't use it y-yet. Um a-and this nice old w-woman gives me m-money too. H-her son insists on giving her t-too much, so she g-gives some to me for g-grocery shopping or to b-buy a new shirt. I c-could just ask her for s-some." Jeremy says in his quiet voice. Mike holds an even sharper glare at Jeremy. Doll clasps her hands together.

"Wonderful!" She says. She begins eating her nuggets again after waiting for Mike to protest, which he didn't. He sits quietly, hunched over with a scowl while eating. Jeremy feels somewhat threatened with such an aggressive posture so close to him. He continues eating, readying his legs for a leap off the chair if Mike decides to punch him. He eats slower too, partly in case of choking in the hypothetical struggle and partly of the growing sharp pain in his abdomen from his anxiety.

After the rest of the uncomfortably silent dinner, the three sit down in the living room. All by Doll's instructions, of course. If he could, Jeremy would go down to his designated room and not come out for the rest of the night. He's sure Mike would do the same. Even though there's enough room on the couch, Jeremy decides to sit on the floor. Doll announces she'll be back in a few minutes and leaves the room. Once Mike is sure that Doll is out of earshot, he kicks Jeremy in the ribs, making him cough and curl up into a ball. Mike yanks Jeremy back up by the back of his collar and shoots another icy glare.

"M-Mike?" Jeremy whimpers.

"Just shut up. Stop acting like a little whimp. I know what you're after and I will make sure you never get it." Mike growls and drops Jeremy. He stares at the man in fear and confusion. Doll happily skips in before Jeremy could ask what the hell Mike meant. She raises her hands to show four movie cases to both males. They're all horror movies. Jeremy forces a smile as sits back up properly. Doll gets everyone settled in with pillows and blankets and puts in The Strangers. She cuddles up with Mike while Jeremy tightly cocoons himself with his blanket and cuddles his pillow. Mike turns off the light and the movie begins.

Three horror movies and five bowls of popcorn later, Jeremy and Doll are rubbing the sleep from their eyes as the last movie's credits begin to roll. Mike seems to be less tired than the other two, but still lets out a yawn every so often. Doll begins to clean up the movie cases and popcorn bowl as Jeremy and Mike gather the pillows and blankets. The males walk into the hallway leading to their bedrooms. Mike walks into his bedroom as Jeremy goes into his. The tired teen turns around to close and lock his door, but Doll suddenly appears in front of him. She walks into his room with a bounce in her steps and stops by his bed.

"You looked really freaked out. I'll sleep with you tonight." Doll says softly as she crawls into bed. Jeremy lightly pats his head. His hair is frizzy and he notices his movements are a bit jittery. Two telltale signs of Jeremy's fear. Doll turns around so Jeremy can get take off his jeans and snuggle into his bed. He does so, although a little uncomfortable, and turns off the light on his way to his bed.

"I hope the bed feels enough like your own." Doll says in a soft whisper. The firm bed feels just like the one in his room. Jeremy suddenly feels homesick. He misses his old bed and his old room and his old stuffed animals and even his old clothes. A worry that his father threw out all of his belongings hits him hard. Especially the thought of the pictures of his mother rotting in a dump like the useless pieces of garbage surrounding it. He decides after the aquarium tomorrow, he would have to go home and get the rest of his belongings.

"Jere?" Doll asks. He takes her hand and intertwines their fingers. She gives a slight squeeze but doesn't say anything else. They stay silent until they both fall into sleep.

The next day, they go to Ms. Bonita, just as planned. She smiles and hugs Jeremy as he kisses her cheeks. Little Sophia shyly curtseys the best she can in her little princess dress. Doll giggles and curtseys back, making the young girl giggle. Ms. Bonita gives Jeremy a hundred dollar bill. Before he could give the bill back to her, the old woman says that she has another five to spare. All three thank Ms. Bonita and head off. In the aquarium, Jeremy and Doll become children, dragging Mike around as they stare in awe at the beautiful aquatic life.

They take countless pictures of the beautiful fish. After they have a half an hour's worth of pictures, Doll and Jeremy happily draw colorful fish. Some of their specimens are based on real fish, some not so much, but gorgeous none the less. Mike found the whole thing a waste of time, constantly whining and groaning. Doll is used to his insistent complaining, but Jeremy is very close to his breaking point after an hour. Doll looks up from her drawing to Mike, who's glaring at some little kids fascinated by the large jaws of a shark.

"Mikey Mouse, how about we take a break to eat, hm?" Doll asks in a sweet voice. Mike nods and grins at the idea of finally eating some food. Jeremy and Doll gather their art supplies and follow the smell of greasy foods. Mike walks ahead of the two friends to grab a slice of pizza and fries. Jeremy and Doll sit at a table and wait for Mike, neither being too hungry. Doll had bought a can of soda earlier from a vending machine and decides now is a good time to open it. Doll hands the soda to Jeremy. He thanks her and takes a swig. Doll idly flips through her drawings.

"So, how have you been feeling about changing homes so often? It's not bothering you too bad right?" Doll asks. Jeremy pauses then shakes his head.

"J-just a little s-sad I guess. I-I mean I did like living w-with V-Vincent, but I like s-seeing you again even more." Jeremy answers. Doll nods.

"You aren't bothered by Mike, right? I know how you feel around other guys and I want to make sure you're comfortable living under the same roof."

"I-I'm alright living with h-him, I g-guess." He lies. He's obviously scared by Mike after the random kick last night. He doesn't bother telling Doll, though. He doesn't want her to mad at her boyfriend because of some Jeremy might have started in the first place. Doll smiles and looks over to Mike, who now has two trays of food in his hands. He sets one down in front of his chair and hands the other to Doll. When she gives him a hard look for only having two trays instead of three, he shrugs and claims to not have enough money. She sighs and gives her fries to Jeremy, who thanks her 8 times. She nods in acknowledgement to every thank you she gets.

After finishing her burger, Doll stands and announces that she'll be back after making a quick call. She'd just remember that Vincent and Scott are supposed to drop off Jeremy's clothes soon. Neither male object. They sit quietly across from each other. The tension grows every second they're alone together. Mike taps his fingers on the table in an annoyed manner. Jeremy quietly taps his foot on the tiled floor. They refuse to make eye contact, which makes the time pass even slower. After about 5 minutes, which feels like 15 at least, Mike stands abruptly and mumbles that he's going to find Doll. Jeremy nods and stands up too, not wanting to be left behind and lost.

Mike glares at everyone as he walks through the long shark tunnel with his shy "friend" following close behind. Mike looks around, but doesn't see his girlfriend. They exit the tunnel, Mike's scowl growing, and walk to another dark tunnel filled with tubes of many types of fish. The two walk a little slower to carefully look at everyone's face. Unfortunately, the tunnel is very crowded, resulting in many sudden stops and shuffles forward to a sudden stop again. Jeremy's focus is on the many people walking around then instead of Mike's movements. He stops in front of a slow moving family, making Jeremy walk into him. Mike whips around and shoves Jeremy into the wall next to a glass tube. The blue light from the casing makes Mike's scowl look harsher and even more intimidating with its sharp shadows.

"Watch where you're fucking going," Mike growls with anger dripping off every word. Jeremy gulps and nods.

"I-I-I'm sorry, M-M-Mike." Jeremy whimpers. Mike takes a step back from Jeremy and walks forward, shoving through the crowd. Jeremy mutters sorry's as he follows close to Mike. Mike suddenly walks faster once they exit the tunnel. Doll's still talking happily on her phone when Mike picks her up by her torso and kisses her. Doll giggles and hangs up. Jeremy walks up to them as Mike puts Doll down.

"Vinny and Scotty are going to be at our house in a half an hour. We should leave now if we want to be home before they are." Doll says and takes her sketchbook from Jeremy's hand. Mike smiles happily and walks toward the exit with Doll. Jeremy walks behind them not wanting another outburst from Mike. They get into the car. Jeremy decides now is a better time to tell Doll to go to his old house rather than when they're already on the highway.

"Peaches, d-do you mind if I g-go back to m-my house before we go h-home? I-I want the rest o-of my stuff." Jeremy asks, heart beating violently in his chest from worry. Doll looks over at her friend and nods. She pulls out of the parking lot and starts their drive. Jeremy can see through the passenger mirror that Mike has an expression Jeremy can't quite figure out. His brow is furrowed, his eyes look relaxed though. He's frowning, but not as much as it usually is. Jeremy looks out his window and shrugs off the expression.

25 minutes later, the car pulls up in front of Jeremy's small and decaying house. Jeremy feels a sharp pain in his gut as he steps out of the car, alone, to walk back into his personal Hell. The only thing that gave Jeremy enough strength to walk to the door is the fact that his father's car is gone with the absence of any light in the house. He silently enters and leaves the front door open. He walks up his wooden steps, careful to avoid the creaking planks. He walks to his bare room. His bed is stripped of the sheets, but everything else seemed relatively untouched. Jeremy grabs his three duffle bags and quickly stuffs them full with his clothes and photo albums. He packs up his old sketch books and reading books he had hidden away before he "moved out". After making sure that everything he wants is packed up, he grabs the three bags and turns to leave. He bumps into his father's chest. Jeremy gasps and drops his bags. Fear fills his body as he realises his father didn't sway, which mean he isn't drunk enough to move slowly or to even shout loud enough for Ms. Bonita to hear. He is sober, which meant his punches will be precise, he will be faster than Jeremy, and he knows to not let a peep leave this house.

"Ah, I see his highness as return to my humble little shack. How kind and considerate. Is there anything I can get for his royal majesty?" His father says in a very condescending tone. He takes a step forward. Jeremy gulps and back up into his bed. The bedroom door is shut quietly.

"You know, I would be furious under certain circumstances. Usually, I would beat the daylights out of you. However, my dear, sweet, innocent Cindy is abstinent. She hasn't had sex in her life, and won't until another 3 months." His father pauses and shakes his head. "You could have come here while she's still in the house. How would I explain that? I think it's time for a punishment, don't you?" His father says in a calm tone, which utterly terrifies his shaking son.

" **Now, get in position**." His father says in his dark tone with a familiar, chilling look in those dark blue eyes. Jeremy doesn't move, which makes the man give out a growl. He grabs his son's hair and slams him onto the floor. Jeremy coughs and starts to slowly curl into a ball. His father tosses him back onto his bare bed. The man takes out the rope that's always hidden between the bed and the wall. He ties up Jeremy's hands to the bedpost. His father covers his mouth when he opens it to let out a scream. The man hushes the whimpering boy and makes him get onto his knees with his head by his bound hands.

"You just had to make this harder on yourself didn't you?" His father asks. Jeremy begins to cry as he's gagged with a cloth. His pants are yanked down. He can hear a chuckle as a familiar pain targets his lower regions. The pain spreads throughout his abdomen. He whimpers and tenses. His father lets out a grunt and rips himself away only to quickly force himself back in. Jeremy lets out a muffled scream. It seems his father loved the sound because he picks his pace the more the boy screams. Soon Jeremy loses the energy to even scream. He stays quiet and listens to his father's grunts come closer and closer together. The man lets out a particularly loud grunt and drags Jeremy's hips as close to him as he could. A sudden feeling accompanies the sharp pain. Jeremy feels sick once he realizes what that feeling was.

"You're fucking disgusting." The man growls and rips himself out of the small boy. Jeremy gasps and collapses on his bed shaking. Both red and white liquids run down his legs onto his mattress.

" **Now get the hell out of my house**." Jeremy's father growls and walks out of the room. Jeremy sobs and curls up the best he can with his bound hands. He's sobbing so loudly he didn't even hear the faint footsteps become louder and louder or his name being called. He didn't hear the door open or the gasp of shock. Only when a hand is laid on his shaking shoulder does he look up. Mike quickly unties the rope and gently tugs Jeremy's pants back up. The boy covers his face in pure shame. He's gently lifted up and carried out. Jeremy tucks his head into his turtleneck and makes sure his hair covers the upper half of his face. He's slowly put onto the backseat. Jeremy hisses and tenses at the stinging pain in his lower regions. Mike hugs him before going back into the house with Doll. Jeremy spaces out as soon as they enter the house. He thinks about nothing but how he would never have to feel that torture again. The thought does make him somewhat hopeful instead of emotionally dead.

"Jeremy?" Mike's voice snaps him out of his thoughts. Mike's sitting in the backseat with him, tucking a blanket around Jeremy's shaking frame. He has the sweetest smile and the calmest look in his eyes. It almost makes Jeremy too uncomfortable to look at the man. He glances around and sees Doll's wild hair fluff out from the diver's seat.

"We're calling the cops now, ok buddy? They'll probably want to talk with you for a bit so I'm gonna be right next to you. I'll protect you. Alright?" Mike asks in a calm voice. Jeremy's tires eyes widen with dread. He takes Doll's phone from her hand and hangs up the 911 call before an operator can even answer.

"D-d-don't call the cops! Pl-please! I just wanna go home. I j-just wanna go h-home. Ok?" Jeremy whimpers.

"Jerebear, we need to call the is serious and we have to make sure he doesn't hurt you anymore." Doll says in a soft tone. Her words don't make a dent in the paranoid-driven fear he feels.

"N-no. I just w-wanna go home and f-forget all of this." The boy says. Doll and Mike look at each other, then back to Jeremy.

"Are you sure you don't want the cops called? We can make sure he never touches you again." Doll asks. Jeremy shakes his head and wipes away his tears. He hands back Doll's phone. Jeremy worries that if he called the cops, he would be killed or tortured. Jeremy presses his head against the glass window and watches as the houses start to pass by. Mike's fingers intertwine with Jeremy's cold ones. Jeremy shifts to lean against Mike. Mike doesn't push him away or growl or even try to pull away. Instead, he hugs the boy closer. Jeremy snuggles into Mike's hoodie and watches the road now.

The car stays silent, which allows Jeremy to think of nothing and to worry about nothing. He does notices for a second that he feels very protected with a blanket tucked around him and someone hugging him, keeping him safe. They all watch the road get darker and darker. Only the sound of the wind accompanies the trio. Jeremy begins thinking about not being used anymore, and it makes it feel a twinge of happiness and excitement for a little while. This time is the last time he will ever be used. He stops thinking and stares at the road again with an expressionless face. No one says anything, no one looks around, no one fidgets. They sit quietly and think.

 


	10. A roller coaster of emotions

Jeremy sits curled up on his bed messing with his frizzy hair. He hadn't moved from the spot Mike had set him down in. He couldn't hear Mike or Doll talking, but he could definitely hear their thumping footsteps around the house. Jeremy sighs and slowly stands. A small whimper escapes him as he stands straight. His back and waist still are sore. Jeremy stiffly walks to the door and to the kitchen, not looking at the couple standing there. He makes his way to the cabinets and searches for something sweet. He always craves sweets or sugar when he's healing up. Doll clears her throat to get the teen's attention. Jeremy sighs and turns around to face Doll. She's playing with a particularly curly strand of hair.

"Jere...Vincent and Scott are coming over any minute now. Why don't you sit and wait with us?" She asks in a kind voice. Jeremy sighs and slumps down in a chair. He jolts and tenses at the sudden stinging pain. He relaxes with a sigh and places his folded hands on his lap. Doll and Mike look nervously at each other. Doll reaches for Jeremy's hand and squeezes it lightly. Jeremy squeezes back a tad harder, but lets her slip her hand away.

Vincent bursts through the front door and quickly walks to Jeremy. He kneels down in front of him and gently rests his hands on Jeremy's shoulders.

"Jere, oh God, are you alright?" Vincent asks with panic clearly laced in his voice. Jeremy hesitates before nodding.

"What happened? Mike and Doll called us but they just said you were hurt. Who hurt you?" Vincent ask frantically. Vincent's voice turns venomous at the last question. Jeremy gulps and looks down. He knows the question was bound to pop up, but he wishes he could've prolonged it for at least a few more seconds. He avoids eye contact and lowers his head. Vincent gently cups his cheek and turns Jeremy's head back to him.

"Who hurt you, Jere?" Vincent says using a softer tone. Jeremy whines and looks around for help. Doll, Mike, Scott and even Violet have their curious gazes on him. No one interrupts Vincent's questioning. Jeremy's stomach ties itself in uncomfortable knots as his abuser's name boils in his throat. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Jeremy's voice finally works with his mind.

"P...Promise me you won't k... kill him, and I'll t-tell you." Jeremy says in a low voice. Vincent nods and leans in. Jeremy looks away and takes a deep breath.

"It was… my d-dad. He...he did... things t-to me, alright? I'm f-fine now. Please l-let it go." Jeremy whispers. He feels Vincent's grasp tighten for a split second before completely letting go.

"What kinds of things?" Vincent asks in a quieter tone. Jeremy whines and hugs himself.

"Jere, it's ok. You're safe here. Nothing bad will happen if you tell us." Vincent adds. Jeremy sighs then nods.

"A-alright. He just d-did...um...he d-did disgusting th-things. I d-don't wanna talk a-about it anymore." Jeremy whispers. He gulps and starts shaking. Vincent stands and gives him a soft smile. He mumbles something about a talk before leaving the kitchen and calls for Scott, Doll and Violet to follow him. They all glance at each other before slowing getting up and walk to the front door with Vincent. The man looks at Mike, who's following next to Doll, and tells him to stay with Jeremy in a strict voice. Before Mike can glare and start a fight, Doll grips his arm and give Jeremy a saddened look. Jeremy stands from his chair and walks to the middle of the kitchen to watch them leave.

"Please stay with him. Look after him for just a few minutes. I'm not sure what Vinny's planning on exactly, but I have a good idea. I'm gonna try talking him out of it and then we'll be right back in." Doll says. She grips his arm a little tighter and kisses him, before following Violet out the door.

Mike and Jeremy stand at opposite ends of the kitchen, staring at each other. Mike glances around the room, but Jeremy doesn't break his stare. Mike can't stand the awkward silence any longer and looks at the clock.

"It's about dinner time. Do you want something to eat?" Mike asks, shuffling around the kitchen. Jeremy sniffs and starts shaking. Mike looks at him, not quite sure what Jeremy's doing. Jeremy sinks to the ground and sobs into his hands. Mike's eyes widen in surprise. He glances to the door then back to Jeremy. Slowly, he kneels down and pulls the teen into a hug. Jeremy tightly wraps his arms around Mike and weeps into his shoulder. The man listens closely as Jeremy starts mumbling and hugs tighter.

"M-Mike. I'm sorry. I-I'm so so s-sorry." Jeremy whimpers. He repeats this over and over again. Mike pries Jeremy away and cover his mouth. Jeremy stops talking.

"Look, kid. I have no clue what the hell you've been through or what happen to you, but don't apologize. I didn't see you do anything wrong. Unless you got a body hidden somewhere, you're fine. C'mon. Let's get you off the floor." Mike stands and helps Jeremy up. Jeremy tries wiping his tears away, though they don't stop falling. Mike takes Jeremy's trembling hand and guides him to the couch. Jeremy's whimpers and sniffling start dying down as he sits next to Mike. The older man slowly inches an arm around Jeremy shoulders. The two stay silent and unmoving. Mike glances at Jeremy with every small huff or whine he makes.

"H-Hey, Mike?" Jeremy says. He keeps his eyes staring straight ahead. Mike hums in response.

"Y-You can leave me h-here. I'll be ok watching t-tv. You c-can go do what you w-want. I don't want t-to be a burden t-to you." Jeremy mumbles. Mike wraps his other arm around Jeremy and shushes him. Mike hopes he's not making The skittish teen uncomfortable.

"Jeremy, we both know you won't be alright. I might not know much about guys like you, but I know when someone's lying to me. And kid, you don't make it that hidden." Mike says and pulls away enough to look Jeremy in the eyes. Mike's expression is somehow both stern and soft.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm just n-not used to being w-worried about that often.I-It's weird." Jeremy mutters and looks away. Mike pulls Jeremy into a quick hug then turns on the tv. He hands the remote to Jeremy and tells him he can watch whatever he wants. Jeremy flips through the channels, not really finding anything interesting. He doesn't watch tv all that often since he doesn't have one in his room and being downstairs at the wrong time is always a risk. Jeremy stops on some comedy show and sets down the remote. Mike glances at Jeremy then fully relaxes into the couch. Jeremy hugs his legs close to him and makes a few nervous attempts before fully leaning against Mike's arm. Mike tenses then quickly relaxes once he sees the anxiousness in Jeremy's eyes. He pats Jeremy's head then focuses back on the show.

A half an hour passes by as Jeremy and Mike laugh and become more relaxed around each other. Jeremy had luckily put on a stand up comedian that they both enjoy. Just as the comedian's getting ready to say the punch line of a drinking story, their friends stumble through the door. Mike quickly pauses the special, stands and stretches. Vincent silently walks to them with a slight limp and motions the two to follow him into the kitchen. Jeremy and Mike look at each other before following. Once everyone is settled in the kitchen, Mike speaks.

"So Vincent, how'd the fight go?" He asks. Vincent glares then rubs his swollen cheek.

"Vinny? Y-You got into a f-fight? With w-who?"Jeremy asks and gently presses his hand against Vincent's bruised cheek. Vincent winces. He looks down as he responds.

"Jere, I honestly didn't mean to fight. I just wanted an explanation, but he threw a glass bottle at me and got pissed and it just turned into a mess." Vincent says with regret. Jeremy gives a confused look towards Scott and Doll.

"I-I'm still confused. Wh-Who did you fight?" Jeremy asks again. Violet, leaning against the farthest wall, crosses her arms.

"He means your uh dad." Violet says. She focuses on picking her nails when Jeremy's pale face turns even whiter.

"Y-Y-You fought my dad!? Wh-Why!? You didn't k-k-kill him did you!?" Jeremy asks. His breathing speeds up until he's nearly hyperventilating. Vincent gives him a surprised and an almost hurt look.

"No. I just went to talk to him, he let us in, I brought up your name and he starts trash talking you. I ask him why he hurt you the way he did then he starts laughing and throws a damn beer bottle at us and him and I started fighting. I got him a few good times before I got dragged away." Vincent explains and rub his jaw. He winces and pulls his hand away with a smirk.

"The good news is that I don't think he'll be messing with anymore, if he knows what's good for him." Vincent smiles up at Jeremy. The teen stares at him for a couple seconds. He looks at everyone before glaring.

"Vincent...how d-dare you! You p-promised not to hurt him and wh-what do you do!? You go a-ahead and fight him! I-I can deal with the p-pain he gives me! I-I don't need someone t-to go and start m-making my dad hate me e-even more!" Jeremy shouts. He slams his fist onto the table and stands up. Everyone stares at Jeremy in shock. Not even Doll, in all her years of knowing him, has seen Jeremy get angry before. The hate in his eyes and his aggressive stance are more than jarring.

"Jeremy, you looked so broken when I saw you come out of that house. Even before then, you looked like an empty puppet whenever we were around your house. Surely, you can't like being there." Doll asks quietly. Jeremy's glare shifts to her and intensifies.

"Y-You know what? I d-do! I love d-damn house and that damn a-asshole!" He yells at her. Doll's mouth drops. The room goes silent. Uneasy glances pass around the room, waiting for the next person to speak. Violet leans forward.

"Why?" She asks calmly. Jeremy snaps his head to Violet.

"Because I m-made a promise to my m-mom that I'd n-never stop loving him and I-I will try my damnedest to k-keep that promise! We both kn-knew he makes m-mistakes but we love h-him! And i-if you love me, then y-you'll never betray me l-like that again!" Jeremy screams. Once he's done, he huffs then storms out of the kitchen to the front door.

"Jeremy, we didn't betray you! We were just trying to help! It just got a little out of hand. Your dad is still breathing just fine." Doll says with a serious face. Jeremy lets out a cold laugh.

"Yeah, I-I guess asking m-me uncomfortable questions a-and then leaving me t-to go and fight m-my father after pr-promising not to i-isn't betrayal is it? Hm, I-I guess not!" Jeremy shouts. Mike clears his throat.

"I can get why you're upset, but don't you think your dad needed a little roughing up?" Mike asks. Jeremy lets out annoyed sigh.

"D-Do you all h-honestly think y-you know who m-my father is or what d-drove him to do what h-he does to me!? H-Have you seen wh-what we do to pr-prove we love each other!? Y-You think you h-honestly understand my s-situation!? You don't e-even respect my r-requests to not get i-involved just because you th-think it's wrong! You th-think I'm too w-weak!" Jeremy screams as he points his glare to everyone.

"You kn-know what!? I'm taking a-a walk! Maybe you sh-should all think a-about how to respect a fr-friend's wishes!" Jeremy shouts while walking out and slams the door with all his might. He takes off down the street. He's too furious to notices how far he's running or even where he's running too. All he wants is to get as far away as possible from his friends. He feels so betrayed and so hurt and so unbelievably angry. These horrid feeling fuel his legs to run faster and his lungs to endure the burning sensations. His thoughts begin to wander into dark territories when tugs at heart are too painful to ignore. Jeremy grips his chest and pushes himself to run faster. He wishes he could squeeze his eyes shut tight to stop them from tearing up, but he's sure he'd trip. He blinks the tears away and tries to push his legs to their limit.

Jeremy slows down only when his body threatens to give out on him. He wheezes as he drags his suddenly heavily legs. Jeremy looks around for something familiar to tell him where exactly he is. Everything sort of blurred while he ran. Jeremy quickly notices the pizzeria. He realizes he must've tapped into his adrenaline and ran all the way to his work place without noticing. It certainly explains his how tired his body suddenly got after the sudden energy boost. His legs feel like they're about to turn to limp noodles, so Jeremy quickly crosses the empty street to the pizzeria.

Once at the front doors, he tries to pushes them open, but is met with failure. Jeremy sighs at his stupidity. The restaurant is closed so of course the door would be locked. Jeremy walks around to the back and finds the grey metal door he'd hope to see. He pushes against the door. Like the double doors in the front, it refuses to open. Jeremy lets out a frustrated groan. Before he turns to leave, he wonders if maybe his boss is still in the building. Perhaps Jeremy would be allowed to rest for a few minutes. He knocks loudly on the door then waits for a few minutes. The door remains closed. Sighing, Jeremy turns and starts walking away when a click comes from the door behind him. He smiles and quickly walks into the open door. He begins thanking whoever opened the door, but stops halfway through when he sees no one around.

"H-Hello?" Jeremy calls out. He closes the heavy door and slowly walks down the hallway to a party room.

"B-Boss! It's Jeremy! Y-Your employee! Um I just n-need a place to rest for o-only a little wh-while then I'll leave! I-I'll be at a p-party table !" Jeremy yells out a little louder, still look around for anyone on his way to the third party area. He notices now the scratchiness in his throat. He rubs his throat and sits down in the closest chair. He sniffs and runs a hand through his frizzed hair. The guilt of yelling at his friends finally starts creeping into his mind. Jeremy whimpers and tears up when remembering their shocked expressions.

"O-Oh my God wh-what have I done…" Jeremy mutters before burying his face into his trembling hands. Jeremy's whimpers slowly become louder as he thinks more and more about the pain he surely caused friends. A thin hand gently brushes against Jeremy shoulder. He flinches away and lets out a yelp. Jeremy slowly turns his head to meet the Marionette's wide eyes. Jeremy stares into the gaping black eyes. He screams. The Marionette takes a step back and raises its hands up in a sign of surrender. Jeremy whimpers and inches his chair away from the puppet. After an awkward minute passes, the Marionette points at Jeremy.

"You're name is Jermaine, isn't it?" The Marionette asks. Jeremy is a bit surprised by its scratchy and hollow sounding voice. Jeremy slowly shakes his head.

"I-I-It's um J-Jeremy uh, S-Sir." Jeremy nearly whispers. The Marionette nods and begins twiddling its long fingers.

"Well, Jeremy, what are you doing here? To my knowledge, our home is still closed. And why were you crying? You know as well as I do that crying here is big no-no." The Marionette asks and nearly snaps its head to a 90 degree angle. The movement unnerved Jeremy.

"I...It's nothing. I-I just did s-something really stupid. I-I know something bad i-is bound to h-happen to me now." Jeremy says and turns his head away. The Marionette tilts its head to the opposite side in the same jerking fashion and takes a seat across from Jeremy.

"I'm a good listener, and we've got all night here. If you want to talk about, I could try and help you." The Marionette says with a quieter tone. Its large smile twitches wider. Jeremy stares at its face, more disturbed as the smile grows.

"U-Uh. W-Well, I got into a f-fight with my friends. I-I yelled at them, wh-which is something I-I've never done b-before. I-I know I hurt th-them." Jeremy looks down and welcomes the second wave of guilt along with a twinge of self-hate.

"I'm a-a little scared to g-go back to them, b-but I have nowhere e-else to go. I l-live with them. I-I don't know wh-what do to." The teen covers his face with his hands. Tears soon start to build up. The Marionette rests its hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

"Friends can forgive each other for anything. It sounds like these friends care for you deeply if they're letting you stay with them. Am I right?" It asks. Jeremy nods, still hiding his face.

"Then I'm sure that they'll forgive you. Friends fight every now and then. It just happens when people are around each other constantly. I can tell you from personal experience, it does happen. It'll get better when you apologize."

"B-But, there's more to i-it than just a s-stupid little fight. They s-saw me do s-something terrible. I asked th-them to not make it w-worse and just leave it a-alone, but they d-didn't. They were just tr-trying to help, but I y-yelled them and I know I-I hurt them. A lot. I-I don't know how I-I could ever face th-them again." Jeremy whimpers and begin crying. He covers his mouth to silence the sobbing.

"Jeremy, your friends are your friends for a reason. They can't just abandon you because of a little outburst that was rightfully warranted. They might be a little mad right now, but at the end of the day, they'll make sure you're alright. They'll make sure you have a full stomach and a warm bed to sleep in. I'm sure of it." Jeremy sniffs and looks up at the Marionette.

"W-Well, only one o-of them is a good fr-friend, but even then I-I haven't talked to her i-in years. I yelled a-at her who only recently t-took me into her h-home, and I yelled at Vincent a-and Scott and V-Violet who took me i-in basically off the st-streets before that. They treated m-me like a son and a fr-friend. The only thing V-Vincent does is w-worry over Violet and me, b-but I've already dissapointed h-him once before. I d-disappoint Scott b-by just l-living with him. I h-heard him s-say so when he g-got into a fight with V-Vincent, because of m-me. I almost wish M-Mike knocked my teeth o-out or something. M-Maybe I'd learn my f-fricking lesson to n-not take them f-for granted th-then." Jeremy tries to calmly explain. His breathing slowly quickens as more tears begin to roll down his cheeks. The Marionette's smile twitches down a few centimeters as he listen to Jeremy's confession.

"You don't mean the same Micheal, Scott and… Vincent who work here, do you?" The Marionette asks in a slightly lower tone. Jeremy lifts his head up to reveal his eyes. He slowly nods. The Marionette taps a finger against the table before speaking.

"...They're...good enough people, I guess. The kids seem to be happy enough around them, so I assume they're...lovely people." The Marionette says while quickly tapping his long fingers against the table. Jeremy stares the the sharp claw-like fingers.

"Sorry. I didn't mean make you nervous. They're lovely friends, I'm sure." It says, bouncing back to its normal voice. It stops tapping and carefully grasps Jeremy's hand, affectionately rubbing the scratched top of it.

"Y-Yeah, they are, a-aren't they. Y-You've known th-them longer than I have, d-do you really think th-they'll forgive me?" Jeremy asks. The Marionette nods.

"Eggplant and Baldy get into fights all the time, but they can be civil with each other. I'm sure both will be able to forgive you pretty easily. The Human Answering Machine seems like he forgives easily enough." It says and pats Jeremy's hand. The teen smiles with hope starting to overtake the guilt and self-hate. Jeremy wipes away his tears and gives it a soft smile. He walks around to the table to the puppet and pulls it into hug. The Marionette quickly returns the affection as Jeremy nuzzles his head into its long, thin neck. The teen gently sets down the Marionette and gives it another sweet smile.

"Th-Thank you, Marionette. I'll make s-sure to repay you when I-I go back to work. Something r-really special." Jeremy says. The Marionette happily nods and thanks Jeremy. They give each other another hug before Jeremy starts heading for the back door. He suddenly remembers something and looks back to puppet.

"Oh! M-Marionette! When does this place reopen? I could use sometime away from everything again." Jeremy chuckles.

"The boss said he wants the Mangle to be able to be safely torn to shreds before he lets anymore customers in. Apparently untangling and rebuilding her is too annoying so they're going to just let the children do what they will with her. Poor dear. She's been glitching out a bit, actually. She might've opened the door for you. That's a good sign. She might want to be your friend if she's breaking the rules like that." The Marionette responds. Jeremy blushes a little when hearing that someone wants to be his friend. He continues his way to the back door and steps out onto the concrete feeling much happier and at ease. He hopes the Marionette is right about his friends not wanting to murder him.

45 grueling minutes of walking finally leads Jeremy back to his newest home after a few wrong turns and some very helpful strangers. The lights were all out except for the kitchen one. He couldn't hear anyone talking or moving around from the outside, which gave him a little more confidence to enter. He slowly and quietly opens the door and sneaks through, which he luckily perfected while living with his father. Jeremy tiptoes as silently as he could to the kitchen while staying in the shadows as best he could. He leans against the wall the opening to the kitchen and waits to hear a voice or someone walking around or at least some sort of impient tapping. After hearing nothing for a few minutes, he peeks his head into the kitchen. It's empty except for a few plates with some leftovers on it and one plate piled with food. Jeremy smiles and hopes the full plate is meant for him. If his stomach wasn't uneasy, he would've dug right into the plate. He slips off his shoes and leaves them by the wall. Jeremy walks down the hallway leading to the bedrooms and stands outside his door. He can hear light snoring through the wood. He almost laughs, but covers his mouth just in case some of his friends are light sleepers.

He carefully opens his door he same way he opened the front one and sneaks into his room. Everyone sleeps scattered around on the floor. Covers and pillows are covering every inch of floor the room had. A smile spreads across Jeremy's face. He slips into the space between Vincent and Doll, careful to not poke Mike's head with his foot. He lets out a relaxed sigh and cuddles up against Vincent while gently intertwining Doll's fingers with his own. He lets his tired eyes flutter shut for a second.

"Mmh...Jeremy?" Vincent asks in a tired voice. Jeremy's eyes shoot open and he quickly raises a finger to his lips to shush him.

"I'm s-so so sorry. I d-didn't mean to yell at y-you." Jeremy whispers. He makes sure to show regret on his face, just in case Vincent's too tired to hear it in his voice.

"Jere, don't apologize. I should be the one saying sorry first. I'll make it up to you in the morning, love." Vincent saying while yawning through most of it. He closes his eyes and pulls Jeremy into a tight hug. He hushes Jeremy's apologizes and snuggles back into his warm spot with Jeremy comfortably nuzzled into his chest. Doll and Mike apparently sense the teen through their sleep and decide to cuddle closer to him. Doll presses against Jeremy's back and Mike uses one of his legs a pillow. Jeremy snickers when he feels Mike hug his legs tightly. When he looks back up to Vincent to wish him sweet dreams, it seems he already fell back to sleep. Jeremy lets out a happy sigh and for once let out a tear of joy before going to sleep. He feels so loved and warm and wanted while being snuggled into like this. His own mind is too tired to dwell on not a single negative thought he always seem to have a surplus earlier. Jeremy stays awake to enjoy the warm and peaceful feelings for a little while longer.


	11. A sweet heaven, not a torturous hell

Jeremy yawns and whimpers as he wakes up. A beam of sunlight blinds him as soon as he opens his eyes. He takes a deep inhale through his nose, sits up and rubs them. As soon as he’s comfortably sitting, a stomachache lets itself be known, making Jeremy groan and wrap his arms around himself. He looks up to the doorway and smiles at Mike and Vincent, who look like they’ve been having another fight. They whisper too quietly at each other for Jeremy to hear, but they’re glaring at each other intensely. Jeremy lets out a yawn, silencing the two men. Vincent turns to him first. Through sleep hazy eyes, he can see Vincent has his hair out for once. For brief moment, he compares it to his mother’s, with the same tuft of hair on his shoulder and everything. 

 

“Well good morning, my little troublemaker. Doll made breakfast. Why don’t you come eat with us, hm?” Vincent asks and smiles brightly. Same morning attitude too. Jeremy nods. He stretches and runs his hands through his untamed bangs. Vincent pats Jeremy’s tiny shoulder then leaves the room. Mike stays in his spot, staring at Jeremy. The teen stares back. After a few awkward moments, he gives a shy little wave, not really sure how else to handle the unbroken gaze. 

 

“U-Um, Mike?” Jeremy asks and starts turning his head away. Mike stops staring. He mutters an apology and resorts to glances every few seconds. 

 

“I-Is there someth-thing on my face?” Jeremy asks, patting his cheeks and the bags under his eyes. Mike shakes his head a little slowly.

 

“Uh no. Just um. Well, I can actually see your eye. It’s uh... nice.” Mike says. “Like Doll’s.” He adds a little too quickly. Jeremy blushes hard when he finally realizes his vision is obscured. He slams a pillow into his face, whips his body around and hurriedly brushes out his bangs with his fingers. He slowly lets the pillow fall, much to Mike’s very obvious disappointment. Jeremy nervously combs through hair, now feeling a little upset with himself. He inwardly curses himself for smothering Mike’s amusement and fascination so quickly. 

 

Wanting to just remove himself from the growing uncomfortable situation, Jeremy tries to stand, but winces and falls back to the bed. Before he can try again, Mike walks to him and holds out a hand. After another moment of silence, Jeremy takes it and helps himself up. His legs ache and throb and his back feels sore and sensitive, probably covered in bruises too. The stronger man helps Jeremy though the door and to the kitchen. 

 

Doll hums happily as Jeremy sits down at the table. Mike takes a seat across from him as Doll sets down two plates stacked with a delicious breakfast. Jeremy quickly shovels down the perfectly cooked pancakes and bacon without hesitation. The warmth feel so good in his stomach. Doll giggles and pats Jeremy’s head. She returns to the stove to finish pile the rest of breakfast on plates. Jeremy starts slowing down once half of his plate is cleared and gives Mike a few glances, grateful for his veil of hair. He’s staring right back at him out of the corner of his eye, directly in the eye. Jeremy assumes he’s trying to get another look at his hidden eyes again. He can’t help but tilt his head downward, letting more hair hide his his nose and cheeks. 

 

Jeremy begins working on his second serving, savoring it more, as Violet walks into the kitchen followed by Vincent. Violet glares at her father as she takes a piece of bacon and walks to the front door. Vincent follows close behind his daughter’s footsteps.

 

“Violet, please text me back this time!” Vincent tells Violet, who rolls her eyes. 

 

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever.” She says quick with a tone and walks out the door. She makes sure to slam it shut. Vincent growls under his breath before his shoulders slacken sighing deeply. He runs a hand through his untied hair. Jeremy glances back and forth between Vincent and the front door, and can’t help but feel a little offended. He scolds himself for having such selfish, hateful thoughts. With guilt and some sort of dull anger swirling inside him, Jeremy quietly stands and glances at Mike and Doll, who thankfully have their attention elsewhere. Jeremy silently walks to Vincent. He slowly envelops the taller in an embrace. He feels Vincent tense and twist to try to look at him. The teen buries his head into back of the man’s loose blue shirt.

 

“Hey Jere? What are you doing?” Vincent chuckles and tries to look at Jeremy again. Jeremy gathers all of his courage and looks up. 

 

“Th-thanks for worrying a-about me, Vin.” Jeremy mutters feeling the sort of anger fade away. Vincent’s smile fade as he looks at Jeremy with wide eyes, instantly making Jeremy regret his words. Vincent cracks a smirk and pats the smaller’s fluffy, tangled hair. 

 

“Hm? Where’s this coming from?” Vincent asks as he turns to give the boy a proper hug. Jeremy stays quiet, too embarrassed to say anything, and lets Vincent pull away. The man rustles Jeremy’s hair before leaving for the living room. He turns around halfway to give a warm smile with a small thank you before continuing to the living room. Doll giggles and pokes Jeremy’s side.

 

“Aww does someone have a little crush? Oh and on a man so much older than you! How scandalous!” Doll says with a dramatic tone and devious smirk. Jeremy blushes hard and playfully pushes her.

 

“I-It’s not like th-that! He’s m-my second dad! Th-that’s just creepy, y-you know?” Jeremy says and looks to the side. Doll nods and pokes his side again.

 

“I’m just teasing.” She says and walks to the sink. Doll turns the faucet on and begins working on the pile of dishes stacked haphazardly in the sink. Mike stands, gives her a small kiss then takes his leave to the living room. Doll looks at over her shoulder and nods her head toward a broom leaning against a wall. Jeremy smiles and takes it. The two always did chores when they were younger. Doll would always wash and dry the dishes while Jeremy swept and vacuumed. It had become their ritual, oddly enough. 

 

“So, Jere, in all seriousness, who do you like?” Doll asks. “You said you hadn’t dated anyone yet right? Are there any boys catching your eye?” Jeremy blushes lightly and smiles. He looks down at the floor and focuses on sweeping.

 

“W-Well, um th-there is this really cute b-boy I’ve been trying t-to get with. I-I think he might b-be straight though. He i-isn’t dating anyone, b-but he doesn’t r-return any of my affections a-and I saw him h-holding hands with a g-girl a little while a-ago.” Jeremy says with a sigh. Doll a sympathetic nod and frown.

 

“I’ve been in pretty much the same spot. Actually me and Mike and only just started dating.” She says as she begins scrubbing a particularly stubborn syrup-covered dish. Jeremy glances up for a second. 

 

“H-How exactly did you t-two meet? He i-isn’t exactly you t-type.” Jeremy says as he sweeps up and dumps the dirt into the trash can. She giggles and nods. Jeremy sits on the counter next to Doll and smiles. She flicks some water at him. 

 

“Same way I met you. I was in the tutoring program and he was struggling with algebra so I helped him out. He acted just as cold to me back then, but over time, he warmed up. Slowly, but he did. We ended up doing things together, but didn’t become official until a few months ago. Under all that muscle and glare, he’s such a sweetie.” She explains. Doll turns off the faucet and dries her hands. Like always, she finishes the dishes much faster than he ever could. Jeremy gently touches the top of his spine. Mike is certainly strong enough to slam him into a tank and give him a few bruises. Doll giggles and adds, “I ended up finding him at an animal shelter a couple months before we started dating. He was cursing out a man while feeding a newborn kitten.” Jeremy stifles a laugh a the image of scary, cold Mike feeding a sleeping kitty while a slew of curses pour from him.

 

“I-I was wondering, i-is he opening up w-with me? He d-didn’t glare at me o-or anything this m-morning. It was kinda w-weird ya’know? I thought h-he hated me.” Jeremy asks. Doll nods and pokes his hidden forehead.

 

“Yeah, he is. He’s a sucker for weaklings after all.” She says. Doll pats down her long skirt which had become bunched up at her waist. Jeremy raises his eyebrow with a smirk.

 

“I-I think you just c-called yourself a w-weakling too, Wise O-One.” He says and returns the poke on her forehead. She shakes her head and flexes her thin arms. She makes a few poses before brushing some nonexistent dirt off her shoulder. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m like Saitama, Puny One.” She says and makes another pose. “And you, my friend, are my Mumen Rider, only he doesn’t have your messy mop of bed head.” Jeremy rolls his eyes. She grabs Jeremy’s wrists and tugs him off the counter. Jeremy slides off and follows behind Doll as she drags him to her bedroom. Once in, Doll makes a clicking sound with her tongue. Her dog slowly crawls out from under the bed and begins jumping around her feet. She pats it and smiles. 

 

“Hey Jack! Are you finally going to leave the bedroom? Hm?” Doll asks in a baby voice. The dog pants and circles Doll’s legs. Jeremy chuckles. He looks around the room and sees everything the dog would need to stay in only one room. His attention is pulled back to Doll as she throws a brush in his direction. He flinches and lets it hit him. As soon as it clatters to the floor, Jeremy relaxes and picks it up. He sees Doll’s and shocked and apologetic expression. He smiles and brightly then sticks his tongue out as he begins to brush out his knots. He gently brushes down his hair to a reasonable amount of unkempt. 

 

Jack suddenly starts whining and jumps up on the bed, slightly shaking. Confused, Jeremy looks to Doll for an explanation for the sudden change of behavior, but she looks just as dumbfounded. Her face then lights up with grim realization. She bolts, but only makes it to the doorway before the sound of glass shattering and yells erupt for the living room. Jeremy feels a cold stab shoot through his heart when it skips a beat. He feels his entire body tense with a numb feeling before an unpleasant, tingling heat envelopes his nerves. Before he knows it, Jeremy’s legs slowly give out no matter how hard he tries to tense his muscles to stay up. He tries to stand back up, but his legs are just too weak. Even just trying to prop himself on his shaking arms seem to be too difficult. His lungs feel like they can’t get enough oxygen, no matter how deeply he tries inhaling. Jeremy feels like he’s suffocating. His vision being blurring with tears starting to streaming down his cheeks. ‘Dear God, why here? Why now?’ he asks himself, helpless and pathetic on the ground. A fear take a hold of his thoughts. They become frantic and push his immobile body to stand. He can only focus on trying to stand against the sudden heavy gravity before anyone sees him. 

 

Doll’s hands are suddenly placed on his shaking ribs. Jeremy hadn’t noticed her coming back to hold him. She tugs him into a sitting position, leaning him against herself, and intertwines their fingers. She babbles into Jeremy’s ear, but he couldn’t make out exactly what she’s saying over his own sobs and gasps. He closes his eyes and tries to force the tears away. He tries to keep his breath from coming out in short pants. He can’t stop it. His lungs and tears work on their own accord. Jeremy can’t stop. And it’s so humiliating. He wishes Doll would toss him aside and kick his body somewhere. Anywhere that isn’t here. Everyone would hate him for attention seeking again. This is wrong! His hurting heart and dazed thoughts don’t leave him any choice but to believe this as the truth. They’re all probably thinking what a pathetic bug he is or becoming so annoyed with this crybaby scene. He can’t move away or hide. He welcomes the stinging words of hate swirling his head as Doll hugs him closes, still speaking those garbled words. 

 

His tears decide to stop falling and his chest begins following his commands. How long it had been, Jeremy has no clue. It just felt so long. He takes in deep, even breaths with the occasional pant and slides away from Doll, using her shoulders for leverage. His arms don’t stop shaking. He wipes his wet, stinging cheeks and notices a an extra smarting sensation on his left cheek. He wonders if Doll pulled him hard enough to get rug burn. He looks upwards as he brushes down the back of head, which had somehow gotten knotty again.

 

Blinking away the blurry tears that remain trapped in his eyes, Jeremy realizes everyone else standing in the hallway, staring at him. Jeremy feels a burning hot heat engulf his face and his chest tighten as he can only stare back at them. Second instinct takes over. Jeremy snaps his torso to the floor, his head an inch from it as he begins apologizing over and over. His voice becomes more frantic after each sorry that slips from his lips. Shame washes over him at the thought of being watch in such a pathetic state. He stops when a hand is pressed against his head. For a split second, he honestly doesn’t know if his cheek will get a another mark or if he’ll be hugged. He feels someone slowly press into his side and gently take a hold of his trembling shoulders.

 

“S-Stay away!” Jeremy shouts without thinking. He bolts through the door, pushing his way through the men into his own room. He swings around and slams the door shut. Panting with his hands pressing hard into the wood, he slides down to the floor and stares at his hands, not knowing what else to do. This is new. This is terrifying. He curls up, leaning on the door, listening to the others shuffle around the hallway. They stop at his door sooner or later, but none of them knock. Jeremy is both relieved and hurt by this. It’s confusing. He’d been beyond ashamed and scared if someone were to ask him to come out, but for some reason, it hurts to have no one check up on him. How do two opposite options hurt the same way? That doesn’t make any sense. It’s so weird! Ye then again, maybe it’s a punishment for ruining the other’s good moods. He couldn’t have left everyone happy could he? No. Because everything has to be always about him, him, HIM. Jeremy growls and grabs a handful of skin stretched over his ribs and twists. It hurt certainly, but it didn’t leave any marks. 

 

Sighing, Jeremy’s hand slips away and curls up to hold his chest. He hopes the pain will go away soon, but at the same time, he wants it to stay and keep hurting him. Jeremy stills and begins rubbing his wrists. The empty or tugging pain he’s accustomed to is different, weaker to this, but this new feeling is similar enough. Sting of his beloved razor would end the pain. Whether the physical pain cured the emotional one or just distracted Jeremy until it ebbed away, he wasn’t sure, but by the end of cutting, he felt a little better. That’s all that matters for now. He stands and rummages through on the of the bedside drawers. In the bottom drawer of a table he doesn’t use, there’s the shattered remains of a vase. The glass is thick and colored a blotchy maroon. He hesitates before taking the largest piece of glass, too impatient to keep searching for his blade. Jeremy flops onto the bed and yanks up his sleeves. He presses the shard into his wrist, only drawing a drop of blood, before lifting the the shard. Doll would surely looks at his arms sometime later today. Cutting his wrists is very stupid idea. His thighs then. He’ll just have to sit carefully and wear black pants.

 

He slides down his blue jeans and presses the glass into the back of his thigh. Jeremy gasps and almost jerks his thigh away. It’s so much more sensitive than his arms. He keeps pressing the shard down until he can feel a little drop of something wet on his fingers. He takes a deep breath and quickly lashes the shard across the backs of his thighs. Jeremy only feels a little initial sting before fire spreads through his thighs seconds later. He holds back a little hiss. Holding the shard tighter, he lashes the back of his thighs, not stopping despite the pain until he nearly reaches his knees. He stands up, legs trembling, and puts back the shard into the drawer with the rest of the vase. He moves to dresser and pulls his only pair of black pants. Their crisp and have deep wrinkles where they’d been folded for so long. He runs his fingers down the length of his thigh, feeling bumps and setting off stinging sensations, but not feeling anything too wet. He slides on his pants on, hissing and pulling his pants from his more open wounds. 

 

The realization that Jeremy had just committed an unforgivable crime slowly comes into his view. He’d just cut himself. He had just sliced open his skin. In his friend’s house. The friend who had always tried to help him stop. His now shaking hands cover his mouth. He had acted so selfishly. This house is not his, yet he bawled, whined and acted like a child. He should know better. He should have known better! No wonder he was afraid everyone who find him annoying and unworthy! He really was! The horror and anger clashing inside him is cold. Like a blizzard crashing against an erupting volcano. It made his entire body shake. Whether from hatred or shame, he couldn’t tell. He wanted a deeper punishment for what he’d done. For what he’d shown and what he’d force other to watch. His despicable, putrid performance. It leaves a sour taste his mouth. They will deliver it just fine. They probably want the same things as he does anyway. It is perfect justice. They’d gang up on him, beat him, then throw him out. It’s perfect. Then he wouldn’t bother else. Whether he meant to or not, all he does it draw negative attention to himself make a huge mistake.

 

Jeremy checks himself in the mirror before walking slowly and quietly into the hallway. His legs shaking calm a little, but not much. He still feels a little scared of facing everyone again, but still pushes his legs to move forward. He halts at the corner before the living, hearing breathy, barely audible whispers. Jeremy takes a deep breath and slowly inches his way from behind the wall and stops once again when the hushed whispers stop. He only gives small glances to Doll. He looks down and begins fidgeting with his fingers, trying to regain his crumbling courage. ‘If they hate you, they hate you. That’s ok. I’ll just start from scratch again. Easy and simple.’ Jeremy tells himself before lifting his eyes to reach Doll’s.

 

Jeremy stands waiting for the curses and glares to start. The looks back and forth to see who will strike first. For some reason though, everyone is deathly still. They aren’t glaring or getting ready to pounce on his small frame. They stare with unblinking eyes. They look strange, but Jeremy isn’t going to be the one to comment on it. He is here for punishment. Doll is the first to move. Jeremy wills his body to stay still and not run. She turns her body completely to him. Then slowly, she lifts her arms to him. Her expression looks sad? Why sad? Jeremy isn’t aware of doing anything wrong by standing still. Maybe the mere sight of him makes her want to pity herself for thinking he was worth of accepting her kindness. She beckons Jeremy closer with a gentle movements of her petite hands. She flashes her warm smile through sorrowful eyes. She looks just as unthreatening as she always does. He’d seen that expression only a few time before, but he knows the relaxation of her cheek muscles and the watery look in her eyes mean it’s genuine. She is sad that Jeremy is hurting. Jeremy lets out a deep sigh before quickly walking up to her. He gently sits next to her, still fiddling his fingers. He opens his arms and snake them cozily around Doll’s body, bringing up his legs to cuddle closer and burying his head into her wild tangle of orange hair. She slowly moves to hug him closer.

 

“I-I’m s-so sorry,” Jeremy mutters close to Doll’s ear. She nods and gently rubs Jeremy’s shoulders. If his eyes still had any tears left, he’s sure he’d cry again. The exhaustion of his long sobbing session is beginning to catch up to him. His eyes still feel a little puffy. They’re probably still red and irritated too. He feels Vincent’s hand give a soft pat on Jeremy’s shoulder. He jumps on reflex and feels his hand quickly retract, like Jeremy’s shaking little body had scorched his hand. He wants to apologize, but his voice feels too hard to manage. He’d rather just stay still and apologize later. Maybe buy a few presents for everyone. That’d be really nice. 

 

He feels his phone vibrate in his back pocket, but Jeremy chooses not to answer it. Whatever it is, it can definitely wait. Doll gently kisses the top of Jeremy’s head before shifting to reach a small book from the table. She opens to her dog eared page and quietly whispers to him the text. It’s surprisingly soothing. Had she done this before with him? He doesn’t remember her reading to him. Jeremy wonders if Doll had done this with another friend with high anxiety like his. He wouldn’t be surprised. Her quiet whispering and warm embrace, it’s a sweet heaven compared to the stinging and torturous hell he’d been expected. The heaviness in his chest dissipates more and more the longer she reads until there’s only a dark fog. It feels easier to breath now.

 

“Th-thank you,” Jeremy whispers out, in a tiny wavering voice. She pauses for a second, then continues. Her tone is higher, even softer. She’s smiling now. Jeremy can’t help but let a small smile lap on his lips as well.


	12. Anxious and Disgusted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my little ones! Guess who’s back from the grave! I can now write again! This is my little baby, I don't intend on giving this up. It’s my vent piece that I’ve grown attached to. Soooo without further ado, a small chapter of YBSH to get back into the feel of this story...and by small I mean HELLA LONG….oh btw, I’ve planned out the rest of the story already. Jeremy's gonna make some big steps :) applaud this little jere-bear.

Jeremy sighs heavily as he exits his counselor’s office. He decided today he would go to school, which now seems to be nothing but a mistake. During his first period, Jeremy had forgotten that he had left his English project back in his _old_ room. At lunch, after waiting 20 minutes in line, he finally was able to get a small amount of leftover fries, suspicious-tasting chocolate milk, and the packaged apples his school provided without charge, which left him as unsatisfied as usual. And just a few minutes ago he had to beg the school counselor to not call his father about his spotty attendance. So he got a detention for next Tuesday instead. He’ll probably skip it anyway. No one really hunts him down for skipping his detentions due to the teacher overseeing it having a bit of a soft spot for Jeremy.   
  
The grip Jeremy has on his backpack straps tightens as he hears a trio of different laughter echo from down the hallway. He already knows who they are by one particularly obnoxious snort. Thomas, Rico, and Matt stumble around the corner, probably laughing at some horribly offensive joke Jeremy must have missed. He lowers his gaze to the ground and slowly walks passed them. They don't even leave his peripherals before he feels his feet get knocked out from under him. His hands and knees hit the tiled floor as the three others laugh again. Jeremy lets out a huff before picking himself up and dusting off his pants. He feels one of them shove him from behind, but it’s not strong enough for him to trip again. Jeremy turns the stumble into a stride and begins to leave. 

A pair of strong hand grips his backpack and slams him into the lockers. Jeremy and Matt stare into each other's eyes. Jeremy can feel his eyebrows tensing, but oddly enough, he can’t figure out what expression he’s making.   
  
“Did one of you punch him too hard last time? He’s not rambling apologies or crying.” Matt sighs in his usual uninterested tone, dark eyes locking with skittering green one. The other two shrug to each other before Rico reaches up to grab a handful Jeremy's hair. The small teen grimaces but grinds his teeth in order to stay defiantly silent. Matt gives Jeremy a quick glare before gripping his wrist, digging his thumb into Jeremy’s flesh hard enough to nearly reopen the bumps of healing cuts. Jeremy struggles and jerks his hand away, though Matt's grip only tightens. Jeremy’s free hand latches onto Matt’s wrist, pressing into the tendon until Matt break away. The tall teen growls and shakes out his hand before slamming Jeremy’s hand against the metal locker with a great amount of force. The pain shoots through the knuckles first,  before spreading through the rest of his hand. Jeremy doesn't let more than a small hiss out has he clutches his shaking hand to his chest. 

Jeremy isn’t quite sure why he isn’t just submitting and apologizing like he normally does, why he isn’t just taking the pain. He feels infuriated. Jeremy wants to push back and give as much resistance he can. The idea of rolling over like a wounded dog fuels Jeremy’s sudden anger.   
  
Matt begins looking very displeased with the reactions Jeremy is giving. He grabs the front of Jeremy’s favorite green sweater, then slams him back against the lockers. The wind is knocked out of him. He coughs and gags as he crumples to the floor. Someone begins kicks Jeremy's thin legs and hips. They make sure to hit his shins and knees the hardest. Thomas forces Jeremy stand up then initiates a game of shoving the smaller teen between the three of them. Jeremy nearly trips over himself half a dozen times and he starts feeling too disoriented to stand. When they take a break to let Jeremy fall into the lockers again, the irritation in the small boy peaks. 

He brings his knee into Matt’s gut and shoves him away before he can even realize what he’s doing. Matt stumbles before falling feet from where Jeremy’s outstretched hands had pushed him. The loud thud of the impact seemed amplified by the small hallway. Everyone stands in deafening silence. Jeremy, the small timid little thing of a boy, had just shoved away Matt, the taller, stronger, apathetic sadist. Jeremy’s blood runs cold as his eyes stretch as wide open as possible. Breathing becomes increasingly harder when Matt’s shocked expression slowly turns into one of anger. 

Jeremy tightly holds onto his backpack straps before bolting between Matt and Rico. He can hear Matt’s finger scraping against the rough fabric his backpack as he runs.  
  
“I'll break your fucking ribs, faggot!” Matt shouts as Jeremy reaches his classroom door. He skids to a stop then enters calmly. He resumes his default pose of his head down and swiftly moves to back to his seat. He can feel eyes following his as his sits. A few linger as he takes out his binder, but most turn their attention back to the teacher. People always stare at him when he re-enters a class. It’s one of the many things he hates about schools. 

His anxiety spikes as he glances around the room, looking for notes to take, and accidentally makes eye contact with his teacher. His. Teacher. The tall, grouchy man with a cold glare as his natural expression staring right back into Jeremy’s fearful eyes. His fingers drum against his desk and his foot shakes rapidly in an attempt to release the nervous energy accumulating inside him.  
  
Three and a half hours later, his anxiety is as high as it was after pushing Matt. Maybe it's even worse than before. He’s waiting for the ax to fall and the anticipation is pushing his heart into overdrive. He can't focus and all he wants to do is pace around and try to soothe his nausea and sharp stomach pains. It's his last class, and all Jeremy can do is watch the clock slowly tick by as his teacher gave a lecture on time management or wasting time and how this class was the worst at it. He isn’t listening enough to know which she decided to rant about today. He packs up his books, and does nothing but stare at the clock as the minute hand ticks closer to the 12, as does everyone else tired of listening to the speech. Jeremy’s hands are now noticeably shaking and he’s sure his hair has quite a number of flyaways, especially around his right ear. He noticed his hand subconsciously reaching up to scratch at his scalp the period before, but he’s not quite sure how often he scratched before or how well patting his hair down did at covering up the result.    
  
Although he knows the second-hand signals the bell once it passes the 12, Jeremy jumps when it rings out and tries to walk to the door without stepping on anyone’s shoes. Most of the students try to run out the door all at once, causing everyone to shove their way through the doorway and away from their demon teacher. Jeremy gets lucky and isn’t pushed through by someone behind him as harshly as most times. He doesn’t break his brisk pace though. He keeps with the crowd and leaves the school with other students filing into a collective mass. He jumps every time someone stumbles into him or shouts for a friend behind him. 

He looks around for Tom’s bright, vivid blue backpack, but thankfully, that particular blue is nowhere in sight. Tom, Matt, and Rico are always together, so if Tom is nowhere to be found, then neither are Rico and, more importantly, Matt. Jeremy takes one more look around, then breaks out from the flow of students heading to their buses. He rolls his shoulder, keeps his eyes glued to the ground in front of him and begins his walk to Mike and Doll’s house.  
  
“Jeremy!” A low voice shouts out. Jeremy jumps and nearly falls as he steps off the curb. Jeremy clutches his thundering heart and a let's shaky sigh sneak its way from his mouth. He looks around to find who had called. Jeremy moves the hair from his eyes and spots Vincent waving from his car. The nervous teen quickly walks to him, but doesn’t have the audacity to assume he’s getting a car ride home. When Jeremy stops in front of the driver's door, Vincent gives him an odd look. Jeremy feels his face heat up and wonders if he had made a mistake by not speaking before stopping.    
  
“What are you waiting for? Come on in.” Vincent says and pats the passenger seat. Jeremy blinks, a bit shocked, and quickly runs to the passenger door and takes his seat. Once he’s settled in, he finds that he isn't too uncomfortable by this act of kindness as he normally is. He dare even say he half expected the offer. He better stifle that part of him quickly before he goes around acting entitled to these sorts of things. 

Jeremy lets out a tired yawn and rubs his eyes. The exhaustion hit him hard. Exhausted is good right now. His heart has slowed down just the tiniest bit. Not by much but it’s enough for him to feel thoroughly worn out from his prolonged and very intense anxiety. The only good thing about it is, while he can’t escape his anxiety once it’s fully present, as soon as it begins shrinking back to its normal level, Jeremy can finally sleep. 

He puts his hand back on his lap and notices two wrinkled and slightly stretched out spots on his sweater. They were on his lap, right where his hands fell naturally. He must have scrunched up the fabric by squeezing it at some point, but when? He doesn’t remember grabbing onto his shirt anytime today. Maybe it was when he was walking. He shrugs off the thought as he yawns again. Jeremy feels his eyelids grow heavier. His body feels much heavier, too. The moment his eyes close, there's a burn, then bliss runs through the tired teen’s eyes. The light breeze, the warm sun, the hum of the engine, the silence of everything else in the world. It’s hard for Jeremy to not to fall asleep on the spot.   
  
“Jere,” Vincent’s voice draws him back to some level of awareness. The pats on Jeremy’s shoulder double the grip of consciousness. Jeremy’s flinch is hardly noticeable, although the increase of his heart rate definitely is. “We have work tonight. The boss called earlier today while you were in school. The big guy decided to move you to the night shift with Mike. Even out the number of guards he says. I honestly fought him on the choice, but he said me and Mike would probably rip each other’s throats out, Fritz apparently takes online college courses and while still in high school, and Scott firmly stated he wants to stay with his day shift. I think he said that you and Mike start tonight if all things go as planned.” Vincent says as he turns out of his school’s grounds. Jeremy gives a slow nod and low hum. Vincent lets out a quiet chuckle. There’s a familiar warmth that blooms in Vincent’s chest then. Nostalgia tugs at his chest when he glances over to Jeremy’s relaxed form, resembling how Violet would sleep in the car after going out for a big breakfast or a long day at the amusement park.    
  
The blare of two car horns and the sudden jerk of the car yanks Jeremy from his peaceful state. Vincent jerks out his arm protectively to Jeremy’s chest as he swerves in order to dodge the halted car front of them. Vincent slams on his brakes as a gut reaction a second later, making the two jerk forward then slam back on their seats, stunned. The two drivers who had nearly crashed into each other honk and swear at one another before slowly pulling off and allowing Vincent to continue on. The man gulps and drops his hand from Jeremy’s chest to place back on the steering wheel.

“S-Sorry. I sh-should’ve warned you a-about the drivers a-around here.” Jeremy mumbles.   
  
“Pish posh. You’re alright and I’m alright.” Vincent replies with a warm voice. Jeremy nods before closing his eyes again, although more alert and sensitive to every bump in the road. After a few minutes of frustration, discomfort, and paranoia, he pulls one leg up to his chest and rests his head against his knee. The brunette lets out one last sigh before the exhaustion of the day hits him full swing again. He’s out cold in a matter of seconds. 

Jeremy wakes up in a bed, sweaty, disoriented and hungry. He looks to the window, and through his jungle of bedhead and the grogginess clouding his vision, he can tell it's some time near sunset. He sits up to stretch before leaning back on his elbows, letting himself to wake up gradually. He wipes his brow and rubs his eyes furiously. He yawns and lets his eyes slide shut, trying to remember if there’s anything important that needs to be done. His sluggish mind comes up with nothing and so he hugs one of his pillows, ready to curl up and fall right back into his dreamless slumber. He shifts away from the wet spot he made and nearly coos at the nice, cool hug of his blanket. Jeremy snuggles down, cocooned in comfort and relaxation. 

Jeremy's eyes snap open as the memory of today’s mountain-high pile of homework hit him like a bus. He throws his pillow across the room and launches himself out of bed. He stumbles and shakes his foot free of the blanket before rushing out his door. He slams into the hall’s wall, confused as to why Vincent's staircase had moved. Jeremy laughs to himself when his confusion is answered by the realization that he is not in fact at Vincent's house, but Mike and Doll’s. 

Jeremy walks into the living room, surprised to find only Doll sitting on the couch with his bookbag next to her. He moves the heavy book bag to the ground before taking a seat and rifling around in it. Doll pokes his back with her foot. 

“Jere, what are you doing up? You have another couple hours before you have to go to work.” She says. Jeremy's stomach drops and his face pales at the thought of going to work. Although it feels like a dream, the fact that a sentient puppet may have been conversing with him now deeply disturbs the teen. A sentient puppet was comforting him. A. Sentient. Puppet. It honestly sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, and Jeremy hopes that it was an unusual dream. Shaking these thoughts out of his head, he takes out all of his binders and his chemistry and English composition books. He spreads them out in order of importance to his grades. 

“I h-have homework. I-I’d rather get i-it done now than a-after work.” Glaring at his English, he decides to push it off until he’s finished his math homework. Graphing exponential growths seem more fun than writing a poem about a life-changing event. She nods, turning her attention back to the tv in front of her. Jeremy sighs and begins on his worksheet. Deciding he wanted to bide his time before he had to start his English project, he chooses double check everything. 

Three hours, and 20 minutes later, Jeremy is dressed for work and still pushing off his English assignment. He just glares at it while waiting for Mike and Doll to try talking Vincent out of making a nail bat for Jeremy as a precaution. They weren’t making much progress. 

“It’s just a baby weapon!” Vincent argues. “It’s not like Jeremy would go around threatening someone with it anyway! It’s just for safety.” Doll remains firm on her stance of absolutely no weapons. 

“It is still a weapon! And an intimidating one at that! It’s not even practical as a self-defense weapon!” Doll fires back, tailing behind Vincent as he nervously shuffles around the kitchen and living room. 

“She’s right. And no offense, but I think Jeremy would take off running before trying to fight someone off.” Mike states, bouncing his keys in his hand. Vincent sighs sharply and turns to Jeremy. The teen perks up. The older man’s expression is difficult to read. There's concern, definitely, but there’s also something else there, that Jeremy can only decipher as a sort of sad. Vincent’s shoulders relax. Jeremy stands and walks to him, hoping to ease his worry.

“U-Um, I don’t th-think I need the b-bat. I’ll be f-fine.” Jeremy says softly. Vincent’s expression doesn’t change. Not knowing what exactly to say or do, he opens his arms to Vincent, praying that he didn’t just embarrass himself or make the man uncomfortable. Vincent pulls Jeremy in. He gives a quick tight squeeze before letting go and ushering Jeremy to the door. Mike opens the door for them and allows the two to go out first before following them to the driveway. Vincent again gives Jeremy a hug before walking the younger to Mike’s car. Jeremy waves goodbye to Doll, who is standing in the doorway, before he and Mike get into the car. 

Jeremy still feels a bit awkward about getting into cars verbally uninvited. He doesn’t bother trying to distract himself with something else. Feeling uncomfortable is better than trying to think about something else and opening a doorway for his thoughts to bring him down. He doesn’t test his luck with his mind today. 

Thankfully, the drive didn’t stretch out too long. They arrive at the pizzeria, noting that a few lights were left on tonight. They exit the car, Jeremy a split second after Mike, and enter the building. Mike locks the door behind them. He doesn’t say anything about the lights, but he does keep looking up at them with a raised eyebrow. Jeremy looks around, the discomfort slowly growing into apprehension. Jeremy rubs his fingers together and picks at his nails, not trying to seem like a scared child in front of Mike. It’s a pizzeria after closing. Nothing more. Jeremy is being childish. That’s all. 

Mike leads him into a large room and slumps into the chair behind the desk. Jeremy takes small steps until he’s at Mike’s side. There’s a spare chair. Jeremy glances at Mike before taking the seat. Not knowing what to do exactly, he looks around for at least a bit of a hint. A flashlight is thrown into his lap. He gasps and jerks his legs up as a reflex. He quickly recomposes himself, looking at Mike. Mike motions to the two vents on the walls beside them.

“Just flash the light into the vents and down the hall every so often. You can shine it from here just fine.” Mike explains. He has a thick tablet in hands. Jeremy looks down to the flashlight before lighting up the vents and hallway, which reveal nothing. The lights from the area down the hall flicker before going out. Jeremy looks at Mike to see if this was normal. He didn’t seem notice. He has his focus solely trained on the tablet. Jeremy looks to the hall. It’s completely dark now. He grips the flashlight tightly before checking down the hall again. Nothing changed. He turns the flashlight off, and even though he knows there is nothing there, he still feels nervous. 

The bright red phone on the desk rings. Jeremy yelps and nearly falls off his seat. Mike glares at the red phone before standing up, picking the phone up then slamming it back down on the receiver. 

“Who was th-that?” Jeremy asks quietly. 

“Pre-recorded message. Don’t worry about it.” Mike states. He flips through the rooms on the tablet, not sparing a glance to the boy. Jeremy looks down at the flashlight before shining it on the vents and hallway. Empty. If this is all they were going to do for hours, Jeremy wondered how Mike hasn’t complained about how boring this job is. Mike looks annoyed more than bored. Maybe Jeremy being in his space is annoying him. Jeremy rubs his neck a bit, remembering the way the bruise Mike gave him felt. It hurt more than a normal bruise did for some reason. He moves the chair a bit farther from his coworker, but Mike seems too focused to notice. 

They don’t talk for hours, which unnerves Jeremy the longer the silence stretches. Silence was never good for Jeremy. It meant the scolding glare of a teacher or a sudden hit from his father. Silence was never a good thing, and now Mike is in this silence as well. Jeremy isn’t comfortable enough or even familiar enough to Mike to try to brush off the tension. He’s still completely confusing and unpredictable to the teen. Jeremy checks the time on his phone often, just to distract himself. He had been here for 4 hours now and has been broiling in his own anxiety for every minute of it. His hands tremble, the pains in stomach come and go throughout the hours, breathing softly has varying level of difficulty, and there is nothing to distract Jeremy from his troublesome body. Not a single thing moved this entire time. Just the occasional notes from a music box, although he was beginning to get used to that. 

When Mike calls out his name, Jeremy nearly jerks himself out of the seat. He hums back in response but keeps his eyes glued forward. 

“Uh, how’s school going?” Mike says, sounding very forced. Jeremy pauses for a moment, completely surprised, then shrugs.

“G-Good I guess.” He answers. Mike nods before looking to Jeremy.

“Good, good. Uh, so I um was wondering...has your uh anxiety been?” Mike asks. Jeremy looks at him, even more confused now. Jeremy feels like it’s a question that’s a little too personal for someone not quite close enough to ask. He plans to just remain silent, but the first direct look from Mike kick in his submissive instincts. 

“As p-present as it usually i-is.” Jeremy answers as if demanded. He checks the vents to busy himself. Mike nods. “I-Is there something you w-want to ask m-me?” Jeremy asks. If there was something on his mind, Mike should just say it. Jeremy doesn’t like guessing what’s on other’s minds. 

“Oh, um,” Mike is caught off guard by the younger’s straightforwardness. “Has your uh… you know what never mind. It’s not important.” Mike rushes out and turns away. Jeremy’s curiosity is fully peaked now. Of course, he doesn’t push for an answer, although the thought to crosses his mind. Jeremy sighs and nods. He’s becoming too bold and arrogant. He’ll end up saying something to the wrong person and of course he’ll have to face the consequences. That was the last of their conversation for the rest of their shift together.

Jeremy yawns and had to keep rubbing his eyes in order to stay awake. There hasn’t been anything happening for hours and all Jeremy wants is to sleep and stretch out his aching body. School was definitely a no today. Jeremy puts his head down on the desk and lazily flicks on the flashlight every now and then to check the vents and hallway. Just as sleep was beginning to force his eyes closed, a loud chime echoes from down the hall. Mike stands and stretches. Jeremy carefully places the flashlight on the desk before doing the same. He looks over at Mike, who's staring intently at his torso. Jeremy quickly curls in on himself, wrapping his arms around his stomach and turning a little away from Mike. The older man turns and makes his way to the front entrance with the teen following behind him. 

The drive home was quiet, and it made Jeremy feel twice as awkward and self-conscious. Mike was staring at his body at every stop, and that could mean any number of things. Of course, the most prominent meaning to Jeremy is that glassy-eyed stare and the following feeling of disgust and hatred and that sick burning pain. Mike had been caring when he found Jeremy. A shiver runs down his back as he remembers the incident. Mike hadn’t taken interest in his body then. Then again, maybe Mike didn’t want to shove himself into someone else’s mess after Jeremy had been ripped apart. He would have been sloppy and loose and already filled. 

Jeremy snaps his head up at that thought and blushes not out of slight embarrassment, but out of pure burning shame. How dare he think that way about Mike? He is the boyfriend of his best friend. How dare he, when Mike has not intimidated him and has been so nice to him. Jeremy has sour and bitter taste in his mouth. He feels sick for having such a thought. He was torn apart and bleeding and the first thought that comes to his head is Mike inside him while Jeremy would be sobbing and hurting and in need of care. Jeremy feels the disgust grow stronger and morph into anger at himself. 

His hands clench as he struggles to not scratch himself. He wants to scratch and pinch and slice until he bleeds. He should tear out his hair as punishment. He settles for biting his lip, and the inside of his cheeks, biting down until the pain dulled into numbness, then clamps down harder and repeats the cycle on the corner of his mouth and cheeks.  He continues until they reach the house. 

Jeremy yawns again and exits the car once Mike steps out. The two enter quickly and sneak into their respective rooms. Jeremy fumbles with his button up. He tosses it to the side and kicks off his shoes before climbing into bed. His mouth throbs. Jeremy draws out an exhale and snuggles into his bed. 

Jeremy's heart decides now is the perfect time to start pounding again. While his eyes burn with sleep deprivation, his mind decides to join in too. His thoughts are clouded with deep-cutting insults and disgusting scenes playing in his head. He calls himself a dumb whore in twelve different variations. He replays the explosion of pain in his back and thighs and inside over and over, imagining different scenarios where Jeremy didn't make it, or his father becomes more brutal, or Mike joins in or some combination of it all. It makes the teen sick, but he can't get them out of his head. 

He tosses and turns. He swipes away the little tears that seep out from under his closed eyelids. The stretches to try and get rid of that phantom pain. He opens his eyes to make sure he’s alone, then feels worse because he is alone. Isolated. Right where he and his disgusting thoughts should be. A long train of thought centered around belittling himself is running through his brain at top speed.  

Eventually, he gets too restless to lay down comfortably. Jeremy sighs and waddles his way into the kitchen with tired eyes and a miserable frown. Doll is up already, making coffee for herself. He slowly walks up to her and buries his head into her back. She looks back at him, but doesn't shoo him away. 

“You feeling alright?” she asks. Jeremy hesitates then shakes his head. Doll hums and turns around. Jeremy buries his head in her neck. Doll gently grabs his thin arms. Jeremy doesn't flinch, but he wants to jerk his hands away. 

“Do you wanna talk about it? There's no pressure if you just want to keep it to yourself.” Doll murmurs. Jeremy, without thinking, nods his head. Of course he wants to talk about it. It was confusing and he wanted to talk it out with someone. However, this was  _ Mike’s  _ girlfriend. Then again, Doll was also his friend. He knew her first. However, Mike did spend more time with her in recent years, and he has been abandoned by a friend for their boyfriend before. 

While Jeremy was lost inside his own head, Doll had already poured herself some coffee and was now inching towards the table. Once there, she guides Jeremy to sit. The teen looks up her, one eye clearly showing, and looks Doll right in her eyes. No glancing away, no curling in on himself, no hiding his eyes. Jeremy has a steady gaze into her eyes, and Doll feels honored with the vulnerability he’s showing her. 

Doll gently smiles before patting his hand and prompting him to begin. 

“U-Um. Doll? W-would you be m-mad at me i-if...uh...if I f-flinched away from y-you. O-Or had b-bad thoughts about you? W-would you hate m-me?” Jeremy asks, lowering his gaze slowly. Doll is a bit taken aback by this but tries to not let it show in her expression. She knows it would only upset Jeremy further to show a displeased expression. 

“No. Not even in the slightest.” Doll answers. Jeremy meets her eyes again. 

“What i-if….what if it w-was about s-someone you love?” Jeremy asks. His voice had gotten a bit quieter.  Doll shakes her head and repeats, “No. Not even in the slightest.”

Jeremy licks his lips. Doll takes his hand and gives it a light squeeze.  

“Jeremy, what's going on?” Doll asks. 

“U-um, I-I had wondered, um, w-well I was thinking a-about what happened with d-dad a-and I thought w-what if…” Jeremy pauses to glance Doll in her eyes. She looks so worried. Jeremy feels sick. What if Mike hurts me, he wants to say. However, Jeremy couldn’t bring down Doll’s beautiful smile. Not today, at least. He’s been too much of a bother to everyone today. “W-what if Mike tries...p-protecting me from my d-dad. I’m just worried a-about him getting h-hurt.” Jeremy sighs. Doll offers a small smile. 

“Mike’s a big guy. He can’t be hurt easily. He’ll be fine, even if he does get a scratch or a bruise.” Doll says. Jeremy looks down and nods. 

“...A-Alright…”


End file.
